Okay, I lied. One more work-in-progress photo. Since I'm documenting this painting's progress, I wanted to show how the fabric comes together. I get a real kick out of watching it emerge from the blank page and blobs of color, and I guess I like to share the thrill, LOL.
You can see how I layer the different colors to get the effects I want. There's very little finger blending. I do rub the first layer firmly into the paper with my fingers, but after that I mostly blend with the sticks themselves. This Wallis paper has a deep, firm tooth that allows for lots of layering.
I actually really like it at this stage. One of these days, I'm going to do some pieces that don't go all the way to polished. But this one wants to be smooth and "finished"....and so it will be.
