Tackling a new subject with new materials: Ruslana...

While trying to engineer a new face to paint (oftentimes, I amalgamate 2-3 photos of different faces, retaining features I like best from each photo), I came across photos of Ruslana Korshunova, a Russian model who unfortunately committed suicide in 2008 after having been part of a mysterious cult called Rose of the World... and I couldn't resist doing her portrait...

Using gold leaves and patterns of roses and roses petals, I came up with this composition using the language of paint to convey different layers of meaning...