Here are some early attempts:
Materials used:
Canson Student Light Weight Watercolor Paper 80lb. Cold Press
Dr. Ph. Martin's Synchromatic Transparent Watercolor (Sepia, Black, Burnt Sienna and Coffee Brown)
Winsor & Newton Series7 #3 brush (sable)
Winso & Newton Sceptre 101 #8
I followed the example of the painter James Gurney and outlined the face in Burnt Sienna. Then I applied the method of Alex Ross and established the values (the lights and darks) with black (on the left.) I also tried it with sepia (on the right) to see if there was a difference in muddiness.
I purchased two different brands of 140lb cold press paper which I'll try in the future to see if there's a difference there, too.
I think the key to painting is to follow more experienced painters' suggestions and apply them to one's own experiments.
More experiments coming!