I couldn't leave this one alone. The head was just not right. So I went back for a third (fourth?) time. For this approach, I just painted. No sketch, no under-drawing, just (digital) paint. It's been in my head for awhile that I might just want to pull out the acrylics again. But there's so much involved in actually PAINTING that I knew I'd never get around to it. So I held my Apple Pencil from the back, as far as I dared and just went at it. Observation and determination. The end result is a hell of a lot better than that last but still not perfect. I think it's as close as I can get at this point while retaining some of that 'visual ambiguity' (sorry, been reading and watching too much about the art world lately).

If I were to print this out, it would be big; 30x40 or so. I think the face shows some of the work and feels more solid than the rest of this. But that's how I saw this young man on the subway. The rest of him didn't really come into focus until I look at the photo. So. I'm calling this done and can now move on. I don't regret the time I spent on this or the different versions necessary. I need to break out of myself to keep growing. I hope this represents a step.

Forgot to mention that I'd watched a couple of documentaries on James McNeil Whistler. I experimented with a palette made from one of his paintings. I think his work is worth more study. Don't know why I haven't looked into him more before.