Struggling Along

I'm struggling with this one.  Which isn't to say that I'm having trouble with the rendering, but that my overall concept doesn't seem to be working.  There's nothing cute about her.  But, on the positive side, she does seem in earnest, as Catherine Morland should be.

The brownish tint on part of her dress is my attempt to represent the shadow of the sheer shawl that will go over it.  So the jury's still out on how that will work.  Meanwhile, I keep plodding away.

On the positive side, I think I've modeled her head pretty successfully, mainly by not losing the lighter parts.

The whole time I'm working I'm wondering whether I should be using watercolor at all.  I'm not comfortable in the medium, but all those watercolor tubes that I've bought over time (and Daniel Smith watercolors at that!) keep staring at me from the shelves in my studio.  Two thoughts are at odds:  "stick with what you know" versus "you really should use those watercolors and see if you can make them work for you."  As far as watercolor goes, I'm now to the point where I'm pretty much OK with everything being transparent.  But I'm still struggling with new layers lifting those underneath.

Onward!