Transilvanian Twilight

You've achieved a fantastic creepy feel with this portrait. The gesture of the hands in particular is spidery, emaciated and deeply unsavory. The figure's gaze is piercing and almost perverse; I don't know if this is what you were going for, but as a viewer I simultaneously love looking at this and yet feel really uncomfortable, like I'm being scrutinized right back. This is really effective.

I do, however, feel that the painterly quality of the brushstrokes almost takes away. The lower background is beautifully implied and gains much from that particular treatment, but I find myself wishing that the figure's body were more blended and refined, particularly in the hair; this is also apparent in the way the sky behind the figure doesn't recede because the brushstrokes force it forward. The focus here, I feel, should be on the inherent creepiness of the eyes and the figure's gesture, not on the abstraction of the technique. It's a bit of an unnecessary distraction.

However, I do feel the need to add that it's a very small complaint about a really great and compelling piece. It's worth noting that this is the first deviation I've been inspired to critique, simply because it gave me a lot to say. Cheers!