>>7779365 (OP)
very solid work, and good picking of color assuming you didn't directly color pick. only real critique is to avoid how you did that background, which is unfinished
bokeh in painting is divisive, and i personally don't like using it when im doing backgrounds even if it's present in a photo study, but if you decide to include it, it's probably good to switch to airbrush to soften the edges. your compositional subject is the pumpkin, but the fence has sharp enough edges in the thumbnail that it brings it a lot closer than in the reference. the fence lacks details, which is good considering its a background object, but the repeating vertical pattern along with its sharp edges brings more attention to it than it should have.
tldr:
1. don't be afraid to omit or replace things from photo reference, especially backgrounds.
2. find an airbrush/soft edge brush you like using
3. bokeh is a purposeful photography effect for photography compositions, and if you decide to omit it, you should change or modify the background that the bokeh is softening because the background will feel too sharp and closer than in the reference.
i'd comment on minor feature placement inaccuracies between study and ref, but the study is executed well enough that they don't matter. besides, it's a jack-o-lantern so symmetry and feature placement aren't as important as it would be on a real face, so "who cares"