I mentioned yesterday that I needed to darken the inside of the mouth to make the teeth jump a little, so today I got into using Raw Sienna to yellow the bones of the skull a little, and mixed with a little Van Dyke Brown to darken the shadows of the opening. Much better! Once that was finished I worked on the right hand, using the Van Dyke Brown to define the edges and shadows, because it was still in its raw, very loose white layer. I’m almost satisfied with the skull and chest of the angel now, but view the spine with great skepticism, because it hasn’t had any serious work for ages.  In this instance I’ll refer to the photos I took at Christmas time to make sure that I get things right, as I have with the hands.
I’ve become accustomed to painting with reference photos for details, particularly of the body parts, which I find difficult to make up as I go. For the previous painting I invented stuff, used bits of trees, plants and photos, composing the painting from all these sources. I don’t have the faintest idea how other contemporary painters work, but this certainly works for me!
