Agave Grisaille, Finished

And- this is complete.  I think.  After it sits for the weekend, I should be able to know if I want more darks than I've put in so far.  In the meantime, I enjoyed this process and will use grisaille again.  It was fascinating.

The finished piece, 20" x 14"

Before the color was added, grisaille finished

Here's what I've learned:  The ink makes the paper less absorbent, so whatever color is added over makes interesting effects.  The pigment stayed on top of the paper longer wherever there was ink and so even a stainer like Phthalo blue acted more like a sedimentary color.  I liked it, but if you're going for a smooth look, be aware.  Also, having all of the white obscured in parts of the picture plane makes the remaining white underneath the colors all the more luminous.  Cool possibilities.  So, experiment complete.  Now I can concentrate on a sweet Christmas holiday.  I hope yours is wonderful.

Thanks for stopping by! Alice