Laying in the background scene. Normally I start in the upper left and work down, so I’m not dragging my hand (right hand) through what I’ve already done. That’s how I did the figures. For the background scene I’ve started at the bottom of the artwork and worked up. Because I want to get the “values” just right - not too dark and not too light. Started with the bright sidewalk - slightly lighter than Gwen’s pants. Then the green lawns (naturally, since they are “connected” to the sidewalk). Then working upward into the flower beds past Gwen’s hips and making very sure that nothing is darker - or anywhere near as dark - as black Kent. Because I want him to be by far the darkest thing in the painting. You can see why: that makes him really pop out.
This is on the full sheet of paper. You can see the trim lines in the corners where I will trim it to the size the client commissioned. I always work on larger paper and trim it at the end. It may look nicer left as a full sheet….that’s an option I give the client at the end.
Now you can really see Gwen and Kent coming toward you out of the scene!
