back into the fray

Source material: 

(I have moved and added roads to give rhythm in the painting).

As I left it: 

then...

and...

Before, during and after (but not there yet).

Taking into account that these are photographed in different lights, the colours are not necessarily accurate. The two directly above are today's "working back into it after a long break". I am playing with the idea that "all roads lead to..." and am superimposing the stylised roads from an old artefect depicting the area. At the moment I have become a little carried away with the flow and will have to set these back a little. What looks like snow will blend in better later. When I am happy that I have them right, and they are dry again, I will glaze with a sepia glaze to age them a bit. I am also flattening out the upper section apart from where I want to create flow down to the next stage. I will try to unite the backgrounds a bit more on the right hand side where the two images blend.

I have "cleaned my brush" under the arch to bring some of the colour down into the next section, and I will pick out the stones again later.

And just for fun, as I am driven to paint downstairs (36°C in my studio), here it is, a work in progress with a Kiwi palm growing out of the top of it.

I am going to work my way down the painting over the next few days until my guests return. I think that the tenor heads to Rome tomorrow, so he will only have one day of fumes should he return as expected today. Painting in the bedroom didn't work; the remains of Diny's delicious curry that I had taken from the freezer burnt to ashes as I happily daubed away at the other end of the apartment, completely forgetting that I had put dinner on to heat! Now I paint in the kitchen... 

I am looking forward to bringing the painting to life, and to developing the last section much, much more. 

Today I am grateful for alternative painting spaces.