Atelier Yoyita's Portrait of Ayn Rand

Artist Gloria Norris (who paints by the name Atelier Yoyita) sent us a link to her new portrait of Ayn Rand, shown below.
From the artist’s web site: “Yoyita is a Portrait artist working in Classical Realism in the tradition of the Renaissance, with sculptures of the Civil Rights movement, landscapes, marine art and miniatures.”

portrait_Ayn_Rand.jpg

While my first impression of the painting was that it was not entirely flattering, my second impression was that there was something strikingly alive and vital about the subject’s gaze.
Draw your own conclusions!
UPDATE: More about Yoyita’s background as an artist:

Yoyita was born in Managua, Nicaragua, Central America. She has had the opportunity to study original works by the masters in museums around the world. She started Medical School at the National Autonomous University of Nicaragua at the age of 15. Unable to complete her studies there because of a civil war and eventual communist takeover, she completed her studies and residency at U.P.A.E.P, a private Catholic university in Puebla, Mexico. She and her family subsequently found refuge in the United States. Yoyita decided to pursue her artistic creativity full time in 1997.