I've Been a Negligent Blogger

There's no excuse...well, maybe a little one. I was gone to IMC for 10 days. Parents came for a visit a day after I landed. Needed to catch my breath. July Fourth Celebration. A slight Read Fest...well, there's just so many good books this summer, I really could not help it.

So I think I'm ready to get back to my routine and the first thing on my list is: UPDATE BLOG.

Let's get back to IMC and my assignment. I've already posted my workups and my sketch. The next thing I did was scan in the sketch, pushed the color of the graphite to a grayish-green and printed it out on 140# Lanaquarelle watercolor paper, 16" x 20". Because the over-sized printer had water-based inks, I couldn't just spray with a fixative. With the help of Donato Giancola, I brushed a thin layer of acrylic medium on top of the sketch using a dry brush and no water. I let that dry for an hour outside and repeated the process. I applied three more layers with a light sanding in between, allowing the previous layer to dry for about 20 minutes. I now had my sketch nicely coated and proteced from the oils AND, since this time I didn't mount it to a board, when I am done, I can roll it up like you would canvas. I began laying down acrylic washes in the moon, the background and some warmth on her knuckles, face and ears (forgot to take photo of her flesh). Tomorrow's post: I face my fears with OILS!