From clouds to the beginnings of skin tones

For the clouds, I start with big brush strokes then smooth them with a blending brush.  Then I layer more paint on top to create depth.  I use white with a touch of greyed down blue to create shadows in the clouds.

My pattern is to work on the objects that are in the background first, and work my way to the foreground.  Since the clothing is over the skin and the unicycle is in front of the clothes, I'll work in that direction (though not shown here, I've already painted the chair that he is sitting in).  This is the first layer of skin tone color - still pretty monochromatic, but beginning to look more like flesh than a pumpkin.  At this point, I think it looks particularly ghoulish, which is pretty appropriate for this Halloween season. We'll call this stage "Zombie Alex."   Note the finished clouds in the background.

Finally, some color!

This is the first layer of color in the background.  Most of the colors are transparent, and the mountains will certainly need at least one additional layer of paint before they can be considered done.  I will also add clouds later.  I went ahead and painted the yo-yo, since I already had the colors on my palette for the grasses, but it, too, will need some additional paint touches once this layer is dry.  I wanted to paint more, but can't do more on the background until this layer dries.   To start working on the figure would be risking sticking my hand in the wet surrounding area, and since I've already done that twice today, I decided it would be wise to call it quits.  Guess I have no excuse not to get on the treadmill.

The Completed Underpainting

I blocked in a background with some significance for my son (the subject).  This is a view of  Philmont Scout Ranch in New Mexico, where, this summer, he hiked about 80 miles.  It was clearly one of the best experiences he has had in his young life and very important to him now, so I thought it only fitting to include it in his portrat.

The next step will (finally!) be the beginnings of color.