Soot experiment IV - step II... Gauging the influence of brown!

I tried a second coat this afternoon, somewhat impatient about the impact of the brown underpainting...

I reminded myself that, in watercolor, raw umber and Prussian blue were a good combination in a monochromatic color scheme. All of sudden, I know that lips and eyes need to get bigger... and they will!

Note to self: "It dawned on me that soot in conjunction with brou de noix would make for a perfect underpainting."

Soot experiment IV - step I... Trying "brou de noix" as a base instead of soot....

I took the opportunity this afternoon to start a new painting using a form of walnut stain for the underpainting (somewhat similar to using soot)...

Time will tell if the addition of transparent colors will produce an effect not unlike that from old color photographs... for this one though, I have a more colorful rendering in mind.

Soot experiment 3 final... Soot to kill!

After the third layer, having fumbled the ball with my soot underpainting, I decided to go full blast with way more paint...

Not surprisingly, I ended up with something else relative to what I had in mind. I haven't given up on soot yet since I saw its potential at step two. A few days ago, I bought some walnut stain (brou de noix) to see what kind of underpainting I could get with that. These days, it seems as if the rebel in me is coming out with more ideas not to use paint.... in my painting process!

Note: I think I will call this painting "deception"...

Soot experiment 3 - step III.. Getting away from soot... again!

My last step kind of discarded the soot underpainting in favour of creating the mood I had in mind using a number of transparent color washes...

At best, I kept the spirit of soot towards the completion of this painting. The second step could have been final if I had gone for a more elaborate soot underpainting... but I was too impatient!

Note to self: "In retrospect, I could have tinted soot with a powerful transparent blue as opposed to fluorescent rose... I ended up with brown mud!"

Soot experiment III - step II... fog is the order of the day!

I slapped a second coat on this one trying to retain as much underpainting as possible...

The 3rd coat will need to be subtle to retain the foggy look I'm after....

Sushi making as a substitute for painting.... still dabbling in colors!

The Muse got a course on sushi making last night from a daughter-in-law...

I took care of the eating part... while still thinking about my next painting!

Soot experiment III - step I... On the coat tail of soot again!

Having some withdrawal symptoms from not painting for a week, I decided to start this new experiment with soot...

Working in a small studio is a challenge in the rendering of a face in a large 36 X 36 format... nothing that couldn't be corrected by widening the nose shadow and lowering the left side to the mouth...

Right now, I'm using a hybrid approach (soot/paint) partly to overcome my limitations... and  to develop a new look. I'm using tinted soot as a first step to short-circuit the process...

Note to self: "Developing a perfect black and grey underpainting in one shot is a challenge... but eventually my drawing capabilities will be up to par. For now, I'm excited about the fluidity of this new approach, and the capability of correcting a little along the way owing to the addition of paint."