Tonal Study

I realized that before I went any further on the oil painting, I needed to step back and figure out at least generally what I was planning to do with the background and various elements. I had a lot of ideas and it could have become very time consuming to do all my experimenting on the canvas. This was a bit frustrating because I have been so eager to paint lately, but it will pay dividends to not rush through the planning phase.
So I went back to the sketch and began to flush out more of the details and tones. I played with some subtlety in the background and found the direction of light most appropriate to make the scene more dramatic. The tank needs some army men surrounding it to push it more into the distance and I want it to seem more dangerous. The girl is going to be going back for her shoe that she lost while running away and perhaps a boy will be running off camera to capture the story better. I'm still toying with it. Overall I'm real happy with its development.

I spent most of my time today applying the initial three coats of kilz to ten feet of wood paneling, both sides and edges, that will eventually be the Friends For Life mural. I'm painting it at home, which has its advantages. It has been nice to work on other things while waiting for coats to dry. When it rains like today, I don't have to figure out something else to do and there is air conditioning.