Hey! Thanks for the awesome feedback, and I really appreciate you taking the time to analyze and push this piece. I consider this piece finished and I plan to move on, so I don't think I'll modify it again, but that does not mean in any way it's perfect as is - just gotta start doing something else now!
I think a dramatic lighting would have had to be planned since the start, because her rendering suggests only diffuse ambient light. There is only shadow in the folds and areas occluded from ambient light, and no clear, hard source, which works best with the foggy surroundings. The background's values have to match the character without distracting the eye, so anything more contrasted and dramatic would probably work against her being the dominant figure in the piece.
As for the colors of the outfit, I'm pretty happy with the way the pops of red color are scattered on her design. She's got a unifying theme of red and brown, and I would not bring the attention of the eye through hue, but rather through detail frequency and values. It's true that the basket may be "overworked" and high frequency compared to the face.
Once again, thanks for the awesome critique! I hope I did an okay job at expressing the thoughts that went into the design the way it currently is without looking defensive or anything like that.
