the eyes are awesome

You had tons of talent at 17! Is that pastels? I used to like to do faces but I’ve gotten scared of doing portraits lately for some reason.

It's oils, very tentative, worked in washes. I'd never worked in oils before. I love doing faces, and have drawn since I could hold a pencil, as I'm teaching my grandsons to do.

Don't be scared, just do it! Practice makes perfect!

I've taught art for years, so I'd just say find an image, set it up to look at it, get your surface ready, and draw it out in pencil, but filling the page, then refining down each section...bit by bit. Keep working it. Use the eraser, or use pastels, or charcoal, or paint...same applies to all mediums. If you use a non oil base for your image, like pencil or acrylics, then you can paint over that with oils, further refining the piece.

I lived there as a child and again when I left Las Vegas to take care of my great grandmother before she passed.