Working Small

Today I'll illustrate the process of creating a particular painting. It's pouring rain outside and I'm not interested in fighting the weather so I will try to pull this little project off.
I want to enter an upcoming juried FCA show and it stipulates that submitted works must be no larger than 165 sq. in. I don't usually work on such a small scale but it is good to try new things. I had to beg a chunk of canvas from my friend Will, knock together some stretcher bars and staple the thing together. This is some heavy mill cotton, more like leather but I was able to fight it to the ground. It is coated with some kind of smooth sealer suitable for Will's Giclee printing. I don't want to paint on that so I mounted the canvas un-primed side up. This could bite me as you will soon see.
Why the weird aspect ratio of 20" X 8" you ask? I have an idea for expressing a BIG idea on a small scale. 20X8=160 so I am within the guidlines. I used wide stretcher bars so I can wrap the canvas eliminating the need for a frame. This will be fun.
I will be basing my painting on a portrait I did last week of a little girl named Mekfira. I set up the completed portrait and am painting from it. Here you can see my initial block in starting to take shape.
I am already in trouble with this unprimed canvas. It is so thick and so THIRSTY. My oil paint is disappearing before my eyes. I won't turn back because I have to get this finished within a couple of days for the deadline( I didn't intentionally procastrinate, honest) . It would be smarter to prime this thing but I decide to persevere and just see what happens.
Establishing main values--feeding the beast more paint!
I want some springlike, youthful coloration as a base. There will be sky behind so I start laying some blue in; it keeps soaking back but eventually it starts to level up and behave like oil paint.
More modeling and fiddling with the hair. I think the three braids on the left are too similar so I'll start to push them around a bit once the paint stars to behave.
Okay, a little head refinement. I am warming up the lower horizon portion of the sky now.
Mekfira has some little coloured plastic decorative things in her hair. I'll start to pull some colours down into the clothing.
Okay, I think I better let this dry a bit overnight and see what I've got to work with tomorrow. I'll post this much tonight and carry it through in the morning. See you then.