So this is where I'm at at the moment. The colours are a bit more saturated, and I have made helpless attempts to clean it up a bit. I really don't know what to do or where to go next with this. Somehow it doesn't look finished to me, but I don't know what it needs to get there. Perhaps practicing some photo realism would get my rendering skills improved, but I also do like the painterly look a lot. I think I will also crop it a bit on the left and right sides - right now everything is sort of floating (haha).
And I have been doing croquis once a week for three weeks. Here is a sketch from imagination where I try to draw from what I have learned. I kind of like it. Although this isn't finished either