Working on Flamingo's head and eye

Here is the progression I've made on the flamingo's head.

It looked like this with its initial layer of paint.  

See the difference?  More to go but it's a good start.  

I had to move the pupil, so there is a little shadow where it used to be, which I am slowly covering with paint.  It will take a few layers.  

I truly am enjoying painting this flamingo but it comes with it difficulties!  Here I thought when I took the photo, it was difficult to get him all in the viewfinder, and how I was on a bridge backing up to get all of him in, but that was the easy part.  

The nice thing is the original photo is blurry in feet area, but the beauty of painting is you can paint it to look clear and I have, it's such an advantage us painters have over photographers!  

The deadline to have this entered is December 4th, 2013. 

If I make it into the show, it will be on display February 1st to March 9th, 2014.  I want this so bad I can taste it.  Best of show is $2,000, and the total show prize money is over $6000. 

I could care less about the money or prizes, my goal is to just make it into the show.

PRAY for me!