Step 1:

I draw out the important parts of the figure. I lay out what I consider to be the essential parts of the painting. These elements are what I use to express the feelings and mood that I want the finished piece to represent. In this painting I am concentrating on the torso and the turn of the face. The combination of a front facing torso and a face turned to the side shows vulnerability as well as an openness.
Next I map out the highlights and shadows at this point. Not only do the lines remind me later where I want these to be, but the act of doing it gives me a feeling for the shape of the body, the curves and angles. Thirdly it helps me match proportion as close as I can. Anything to help with that is a must for me.
Then I set the drawing aside to work on another painting or a different aspect of the  business. When I come back I will make adjustments to the drawing and lay down the first wash.

Step 2:

I’m still not happy w/ certain aspects. I think I will need to lay out the face again. I also trimmed down the left (your left) arm and shaved her down a few more places. So here is my first layer. I am leaving the background white and like I said focusing on the torso and the turn of the face. Now is the slow process of layering. Laying down the color over and over again to build up my darks and to mold the form. I want this painting to be loose, flowing, and expressionistic.

Step 3:

Now the slow boring part starts. Just layering and molding the body. It’s in the ugly stage of course, but that is to be expected.

Step 4:

I toned down the white of the paper on her torso in this step. More layering, more molding. Trying to fix the face a bit. I went too dark and let the lines dry hard. It’s all a part of the process though. Give and take, fixing the missteps and the push and pull of watercolor.

Step 5:

There are about 5 more steps in this one, but I finished it all in one day and did not stop to take photos. I really just wanted to get the whole thing finished. I masked the torso, legs and right arm. Then I used my three primary colors of my “dirty” palette: yellow ochre, prussian blue and brown madder to pour in the back ground.  I poured several layers. During one of these layers a strand of hair made it into the paint. I didn’t see this until the paint dried. I pulled up the strand and it left a nice line. So I ran to the bathroom grabbed my hair brush and went to work with a couple more layers.  It’s hard to see in this picture, but you can see it most on the left hand side near the body.