Practice freckles

Practice on cardboard — in a dimly lit room. When I brought it into good lighting, I saw all the “dirt” instead of shadows, etc. But, it’s practice, so I didn’t care. I looked at this reference photo: https://www.pikrepo.com/fthqk/boy-s-face
but didn’t try to get an exact likeness.
That’s such a cute kid. I love freckles.
Of all the materials I’ve used recently, I like the Golden Open gel, matte medium, and the ability to use a Derwent Lightfast colored pencil (if the acrylic is not too glossy). I love how I can get away with using cheap painting supports.
Oh, and I’ve mixed Golden Open gel into some egg tempera and it seemed stable. Though the Golden Open paints are also translucent, so where’s the advantage? I haven’t done a side-by-side comparison of the luminosity of the two mediums.