Starting block 2 - steps II-III... on the starting block again... that's how it feels!

I felt the need to make the runner look more real before starting, and I also wanted to accentuate the red underpainting in certain areas, a tactic that served me well in my most recent paintings.

I was thinking sculpture... and, in 30 minutes or so, I established the mood by dragging semi transparent paint on the surface with a painting knife and a brush... trying to generate "happy accidents" I could build on. I may have gone overboard on accidents!

A couple of hours got me where I need to be for the final sprint tomorrow. I am going for the surreal evening lighting of a stadium. I need to accentuate shadows and highlights everywhere and keep building layers until I am satisfied with the final product. The body doesn't yet fully belong to the environment because of the fairly cool colors used. Warmer colors will be added where appropriate. I also want to create more of a tri-dimensional effect with mid tones...

Hopefully, my best painting won't be somewhere in-between start and finish!

Note: I had fun playing with the number... but it had to go in favour of an abstract rendition of the crowd area....