Daddy Daughter Dance - Figures on Friday with process shots!

Daddy Daughter Dance, 8 x 6, oil on panel, L. Daniel © 2022

NFS

This sweet tiny dancer is my grand niece. I caught her dancing with daddy at a family wedding where she was the flower girl. Of course, she stole everyone's heart in that little tulle dress! She is a teenager now and still a beauty. This blast from the past was VERY fun to paint. I've been thinking about it for years!  

I started this painting a little differently. Here are some process shots...

1) To start, I covered the entire canvas with a thin layer of ultramarine and burnt sienna mix (sorry, no picture of that!) THEN, I loosely wiped out the light areas of the image. I chose this approach because the scene was very dark, and "wiping out" made it easier to establish a high contrast, back lit setting. 

2) Once large areas of light were wiped out, I painted back into the panel using the same dark neutral mix. This time, I was careful to check my shapes for proper proportions and to adjust the composition. 

3) I finished the piece in my usual fashion: working directly into the underpainting... building it from dark to light. And as always, I saved the tantalizing highlights for the very end. :)