Well after many attempts at painting Mystic, I've put it aside.  Making my own flesh tone colors using the acrylic paints ends  up looking muddy.
So instead of giving up entirely,  I went on to complete another one of Misty's assignments. This one was to sketch and paint a portrait using only monochromatic tones.  I used raw umber, titanium white, and a tiny bit of paynes gray. This was great practice, because of the amount of shading involved, having to create the effect of light and dark, and reaching for 2dimensional features - with actual paint that dries sooooooooooooo quickly.  That's where I'm getting stuck. 

Pencil on paper now seems like a piece of cake.  Eraser in hand, and you can change anything.  Acrylic paints.....not so much.   hmph
Anywayssss, not a total loss.