New Year, new class

This week I started my new figure painting class. I'm still struggling, so in this blog I'll (hopefully) be recording my progress. Here are my first attempts.

What I know I'm doing wrong:
-Incorrect grip on the brush (which my teacher corrected)
-coming to class with untoned canvases
-mixing paints on a white palette (need a darker palette to mix colors properly)
-no clue how to paint a face
-no sense of emphasis or focal points

What I know I'm doing right:
-showing the mass, proportion, and weight of the figure
-decent job of choosing colors

Danni, the teacher, did say "looks nice" when she saw one of my figures, which was encouraging; and another student told me I looked like I was "holding my own" in spite of being a beginner. Must hang on to these positive comments.