I started the day mixing black acrylic with a bit of white to give it an ‘off-black’ shade. I used this to block in the hat and boots. This form of acrylic paint works a little like gouache in that it can be re-wet and worked with for a short time before becoming permanent. I added some white acrylic to my brush and blended it into the black for toning and highlights.
While I waited for that to fully dry, I used black gouache in a wash on the skirt, building up layers to darken and contour it. I painted a blue-gray gouache on the back half of the belt, then blended black into it. I stippled the black into the front of the belt, creating its texture. Then I painted the fringe with gray gouache, adding little lines of black for shadows.
Back to the boots and hat, I re-wet the pink I used for the vest yesterday and painted the stitched design on them. I didn’t like the way the board’s texture was showing through in the painted gloves, so I mixed a dull tan acrylic and painted them again, this time solid. I then added some white to the highlights and brown to the shadows, blending them in before the acrylic could set fully. Next, I painted highlights on all the painted areas with white gouache.
To complete the painting portion of this piece, I covered all the skin areas with textured gesso so they’ll be ready for oil pastels tomorrow.
I ended the day using colored pencils to finish the rope. It ended up being a mix of ochre, gray, and dull yellow, with a little bit of dark brown for the darker shadowed areas (by the hands)…