I have been taking Tamara Laporte's Art, Heart and Healing course over at willowing.org.  This is a free class she is hosting and it is fantastic.  I would highly recommend it to anyone.  The above painting is the finished version of my artwork from the first class.  It isn't perfect, her eyes are too big and too close together and I would have like her face to be lighter but for my first try at painting a portrait I am pretty happy with the results.