This is absolutely gorgeous! I really love the use of the warm, earth tones. The green in her cap and in the background really accentuate her golden brown skin. I also love the lighting. It really highlights her features and creates a solid contrast to make this painting pop out.

The detail is fantastic, from the embroidery in her cap to the lace in her top to the ridges in the coins. I also really like the detail in her hair and the freckles on her face. And I am blown away by the candles--The wax, the fire--They match the slightly stylized look of the painting, but they have a definite realism, too.

There are only two things in this piece that I feel keep it from being perfect. First, the white flowers in her cap contrast so intensely with the dark background that they kind of compete with the face for the focal point. I think if they were more of the dark gold/bronze that's in the rest of her attire (maybe even her earrings), they wouldn't be so distracting.

The other one is her nose. The shading around her nose looks too dark and kind of over-accentuates the shape of it. I think keeping the dark browns around her eyes instead the black would retain the intense lighting, but be more flattering to her features.

All in all, really, really beautiful work!