"catch me grandpa": a bit more but not quite done

first 20 minutes

i think the jet lag has abated at this point so i ventured back into the studio this morning. these photos of the progress represent about 20-30 minutes of successive work. i think the brush work and colors are somewhat self-evident so i will keep the description to a minimum.

i mainly worked on her face and upper torso and anterior neck flesh colors during this initial 20 minutes.

second session: 30 minutes

in the second sitting after a change of water, brush rinsing and a few runs-through of jim croce's "you don't mess around with jim," (indeed) i came back and almost finished her face and modeled the far hand and near arm. i painted little bit of her hair that drapes over both her near and far shoulders at this time as well.

last 20 minutes for the third sitting

during the last session again after a rousing rendition of continuing not to "tug on superman's cape" and refraining from "pulling the mask off the old lone ranger," i tackled the background. this thinking about and actually painting some of the background in a more or less planned manner rather than a last minute splash and dash is something i really need to work on. to set off the figure i decided to paint the areas around the door in front of which she is leaping. those areas are deeply recessed and therefore in shadow so that gave me the perfect opportunity to put in some darks. i purposefully put in the diagonals representing the planks in the door to give a sense of movement and tension. after doing that, i finished painting her hair by wetting portions along the contour of the waves and then dropping in burnt umber and quinacridone gold. the scrapes with the palette knife came last. the tress over her forehead is too dark so i will have to lighten it at the next setting

i think that it is starting to come together. just a few more details in the background and finishing the pattern on her dress should do it.