here i keep adding some semi-opaque and translucent glazes to whatever areas seem to cry out for them. i push things back and pull some things forward by making them diffuse or sharp. again, these stages have no rhyme nor reason, and they can’t be easily quantified or rushed. i get really zen and just let the painting tell me what it needs. the moment you try to impose deadline or required outcome, you start digging a hole for yourself. if you let the painting dictate where it wants to go, you happily sidestep the hole and stroll along on the surface.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
hey, check it out– it’s starting to look a bit like a painting! very slight differences here, but they represent a lots of time and thought…

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
here you can see how i begin to address the black dead trunk. i find it way more effective to define the dark edges by stroking the edge with something light, rather than trying to darken, darken, darken. it’s SO easy to darken later with a super traslucent glaze. so i try to avoid that battle till closer to the end. for now, i just want to get something interesting happening in that quagmire.
you can see that i’m gradually trying to define the subtleties of what’s happening between the two figures’ heads,  and the light/shade, and negative space involved. that’s really the core of the image, so it’s important that that work well.