Clarisse's sketchbook

[Clarisse Silva]

Portrait entirely from imagination. Tried to push it as far as I could. Would love some critique on this, and also, on how to apply what you've learned from studies (or think you learned D: ) to your own imagination work; because many times when I paint and try to remember what I've learned with studies I've made, I dont feel like I'm doing rational, smart decisions, everything feels very intuitive and I never know "why" is that color there and not someplace else; and because of this, I end up re-painting certain areas many times, which makes me think that actually I know nothing about the theory of color and light.
Also, how is your approach on a painting entirely from your imagination? Do you start with a rough sketch that is not going to show itself that much on the final? Do you do a very accurate linework beneath the whole painting? Do you simply start with strokes of color? Or you start in black and white?
Sorry if I sound too desperate, but well, that's me.