Charcoal portrait

I’m using other people’s references right now and this is from Howard Lyon. I’m very grateful that he has provided such a good resource for artists, at reasonable prices. Selecting images among the ones I bought is painstaking and it’s difficult to say exactly why I choose specific images. From 1000 images there are a handful I can use. He has created albums with choreographed themes. He says he seeks beauty in his art. This portrait is of one of his models, Katie. I’m experimenting with various media and finding out how to use charcoal. Here I am using hardest grade of Koh I Noor compressed charcoal sticks.