Thanks for your kind words, guys.
Luca: I have been interested the the techniques of the old masters for a while and have several books on the subject. I recommend "How to Paint Like the Old Masters" by Joseph Sheppard (ISBN 0-8230-2671-X). It gives you SBS examples from 8 of the great masters, and you can follow along on your own work if you like. Of course, we're talking oils here, but maybe an acrylic painter would find this book useful too.
I used a combination of the Titian and Rubens techniques on the lady because my usual burnt sienna shading was not consistent with the "peaches and cream" complexion I was trying to achieve, Basically, you use shades of dark gray in all the shaded flesh areas. This is also a technique used by Alex Castro (the airbrush painter).
Dan: Yes, Nungesser was in the Escadrille. The flat came with Nungesser's "coeur noir" in raised relief, and I had visions of a disaster if I tried to remove it (originally, I planned to paint the famous Escadrille Indian Head), so I went with the coeur identity. The plane is a Nieuport 22, while Nungesser's was a Nieuport 17, (please don't ask me what is the difference!
) so I figured I had some "artistic license" to go with the "silver" finish insead of the camo. WWI is a relatively recent interest for me, so I may be a little shaky on some of the finer details.