From the Painting Guide: The painting suggests a lack of individualism, with the figures very subdued and blending together at body level, yet contradicting this is the fact that the features on the faces have been made distinctive, if rather stylised (particularly the eyebrow). The dark, foreboding background doesn't have enough detail in it for me, I want to be able to see something of what's going on there to add to the storytelling aspect of the painting. As it is, the figures alone don't tell enough of a story for me to sustain my interest.

On a technical level, rather than painting 'around' the faces, you could use masking fluid to protect these (once they've dried), then apply the blue wash over the top; this would eliminate the white spots where the blue doesn't meet the face.