Racing start one - steps II-III... bringing the kid back!

For this second step, I brought back my spatula "cement repair" technique despite a rather traumatic experience with the first painting from this series... I'm a glutton for punishment!

One hour got me into this relative mess...

... and it was time to get the control freak back... making an effort to confine him within the boundaries suggested by this semi abstract rendering!

A couple of hours got me where I needed to be for some serious work...

A few more passes will give more depth to the figure and correct any anatomical flaws (e.g., lengthening left forearm). I also need to introduce more texture, contrast and color variations in the background to make it look more interesting... without losing the emphasis on the runner.