playing with color in portraits

Over the past few weeks, I've been working on a new portrait. I started with a loose and colorful background, created with ink and thin layers of acrylic. It immediately felt free and playful, exactly the energy I wanted to capture.

My plan was to paint the portrait itself in colors other than the usual skin tones. Ultimately, it gravitated towards skin tones, although this time there's more of a pinkish-purple hue than usual. I'm still exploring that. On the one hand, I'm drawn to creating a more realistic feel, but on the other, I'd like to be more daring in experimenting with color.

What I'm struggling with now is how to proceed. I love the background: the colorful planes, the playful drops and spots. The portrait itself has turned out less colorful than I initially intended, and I'm unsure how to balance that. There are still details to be added, but this is always a tricky point for me. I'm often afraid I'll add too much and unintentionally cover up parts I like.

What does make me feel good is that I realize I learned a lot during my vacation. I practiced portraits daily in my sketchbook, and through drawing, I'm starting to understand more about the plane shifts in the face—how light and shadow fall across the forms. That gives me more control in painting.

For my next portrait, I really want to play with color more. To consciously move away from skin tones and see what happens when I work with, say, blue, green, or orange in the skin. It still feels a bit daunting, but I think this will be an important step in my development.

Do you have any tips for daring to let go of color, or perhaps suggestions on how I can ensure a colorful background and a portrait enhance each other instead of overshadowing each other? I'd love to hear them!