Vasco da Pollo —Character #2

As I was finishing up the first character last week, I started thinking about what kind of character I'd like to paint next, and what animal he or she might be.  I thought an explorer would be fun, and then decided it needed to be a rooster (I'm eager to paint a rooster's haughty and challenging eye).  The name was easy:  Vasco da Pollo.

My next thought was that the character might be better if the name (and animal) were Vasco da Llama — it is a funnier name— but I'd already gotten an image of the rooster in my mind, and I'm not in the mood for a llama.  

I read an online bio of the real da Gama, and refreshed my memory that he'd been the first European to find an ocean route to India.  Like many European explorers of the age, de Gama could be a very cruel man.  But I was amused that the article stated specifically that the ocean route to India aided in Europeans' access to pepper and cinnamon. . . which go very well with chicken.

So here he is:

Vasco da Pollo.
His family motto, which I might inscribe in his breastplate rather than paint on his sash,
reads Guardar la carne blanca (Protect the white meat)

I want to make this one as tonal as possible, with grays and rich reds, and a suggestion of a far-off city in the background, a classic portrait touch.

Comments?  I'm happy to hear them.