Empress Theodora, one cool lady

So Fall quarter of this year I took a book illustration class. I decided to do a book based on empress Theodora of the 9th century Byzantine empire. She was responsible for bringing the iconoclast to an end, and reinstating icons into Orthodox Churches. She is commemorated on the Sunday of Orthodoxy, which actually just happened week before last! Anyway, I never finished, I got too bogged down in the research. I want to finish it someday, and probably approach the illustrations with a different style. Here's what I made for the class though, besides the research.
These are done in oil paint.