Summer painting in progress

Summer school ended the first week of July and after turning in final grades for my course, I came home ready to focus in the studio.  As I previously wrote, I wasn't quite sure what to do with this canvas (it measures 36 x 36 inches), so I began by painting the background in a warm palette.  When I work on a large canvas like this, I use a second work table so the canvas can lay flat for the first few layers.  Following are photos of the progression. 

July 14:  Lola, #studiocat, is always very interested in my studio progress. The origami was first drawn on gridded paper to achieve similarity in size and shape.  Next, the original sketch was repeated on tracing paper and transferred to the canvas.  The shapes were blocked in with a thin layer of white paint.

 

July 15-18:  I spent a few days in my sketchbook, drawing blind contours of the caladium in my garden and working out the composition.  After choosing the sketches I wanted to use in the final work, I transferred the lines to tracing paper and laid them out on the canvas.  The square format presented some challenges that I haven't had to address on such a large scale before.  This part always takes the longest.  

July 19: The subject matter has been transferred to the canvas and blocked in.

July 22: Current state.