RAMA gets dead coloring

If yesterday was a battle, today was a victory.

It may seem flat and simple like a silk screen print but this is the very foundation that the painting is built upon, the dead coloring stage.

 I began the next step the drawing stage which follows the charcoal sketching stage. I outlined and created shadow areas for all the skin areas of the RAMA painting.This allows me to define the edges and a few of the details. Though it looks cartoony, it really helps to visualize the character better.

The paint used to outline the piece is thinned with odorless spirits. Though the reference is well lit and doesn't have super dark shadows I used this stage as on opportunity to play with the dark areas a bit. I cut back in some of the edges with red acrylic before proceeding to the next step.

The richness of oil cannot be underestimated, it is what makes me happy about the progress and quality of the work. I filled in the major skin tone areas with a medium value made from flake/lead white and red umber (Old Holland brand). I also decided that the background that was blocked in with red acrylic looked terrible! Actually the word I used was "shitty". Oil is so dramatically rich.  I used almost half a tube of Windsor and Newton Cadmium deep hue, but it was worth it! In this picture you can compare the top half in oil and the bottom in acrylic.

Here is the canvas, entirely painted over in oil. It is rich and full. I painted over the kilt with an even tone of the read. Now I am thinking about using gold design aspects to create visual interest for the piece. As in all art, more questions than answers are developing at this point, that's the challenge and  that's also half the FUN!