Red Hat Lady ~ color studies

So far I've done two trial runs on Arches #140 hotpress w/c paper. Wow, it's difficult to retain facial expressions and features while trying to duplicate skin tones, place shadows, etc. I also tried two different palettes and two separate styles. I'm now on to #90 coldpress to see what results I get on that substrate. I'm getting plenty of practice painting faces if nothing else. I'm going to feel like I know this woman personally by the time I'm done.

Daisytown Peepers ~ WIP 2

Since last post I completed the fourth frog and the centers of the flowers. When I started painting the petals I ran into a snag. Arches hotpress paper ain't what it used to be and I knew this when I began the painting. Foolishly I thought I could work around it and I still can but it will take longer than expected. The surface of this paper roughs up very easily when removing frisket film or masking fluid and no matter how careful I am I'm left with trouble. All the other elements of the painting were easily handled but the petals must be as smooth and pristine as possible and that's not going to happen with any water based or 'juicy' medium. I'll have to resort to heavy body acrylic and probably more than one coat to get the job done right. I will be working on this one here and there as my patience dictates but for now I'm moving on to something that hopefully will go much faster. I will post the final painting when it's complete.