work in progress I

I just started this painting yesterday (March 17th) and decided to post it as a step-by-step work in progress just for kicks.

I started out with a 16"x20" piece of hardboard panel I picked up at Jerry's Artarama, which is about two blocks from my downtown studio in Fort Collins, CO.

I began by applying two coats of gesso to take the slickness off the panel. I stared at the panel for about 10 minutes, a common way I start a new piece of work, then decided to throw down some oranges, pale pinks, and yellow ochre. At that point, I still had no clear vision of what I wanted for a subject, so I just kept painting the background for hours, day dreaming in the process. Today I went back in and worked on the background some more, to hush some of the oranges that were too bright, then started pencil sketching the characters in the foreground. The last hour or so was spent putting a little green and black in the area that will become a tortoise shell. That's it for now.