Sometimes, inspiration just leaps out and smacks you in the chops. Whilst still reeling from Frank's 'Freckles', I saw a deviation of the photo version of this image denuded, by a process of filters, of it's lentiginous qualities. I decided to go the other way and attempt to capture the original in all her beautiful bespeckled glory.
Countless hours later and with prodigious use of Illustrator CS5's gradient mesh tool and the trusty Wacom tablet and pen, you see the finished result. Everything is built from meshes with hair and textural accents added using the brush tool.
Thanks for taking the time to comment, Lydia. If you look at the hair on the right and side. you can see how the original photo was taken with a narrow depth of field, focused on the nose and face with the background dropping out. What I've drawn of the ear is a close match, though I can see why you think it looks a tad awkward.