step one: hopeful

(11x15)

I spent all morning working--I stopped around three, which will give you some idea of what "morning" means to me! I plan to devote the rest of the day to lounging and reading, but wanted to get a start, at least, on this. I'm underpainting the darker leaves blue, and will underpaint the lighter ones yellow. I chose Winsor Blue GS, a color that's not on any of my palettes, just for that reason; it's very like cyan and Daniel Smith's cerulean, but, to me, brighter.
To get the lightstruck shapes on the leaves, I'll paint around the underpainting. And try to do one pass of adding details.
Then top the whole thing off with slashes of orange!
Well, that's the plan. (Although in a case of self-sabotage, I can already see this paper's not going to hold up to too much working ... One more wash at the most. I'll have to let the paper get bone-dry between layers; a layer a day?)

(I want to recommend, to anyone who hasn't seen it, The Kite Runner; I watched it last night and sobbed uncontrollably for at least half an hour afterward--that's my idea of a good movie! It's beautiful movie, a redemption story. The two little boys who play Amir and Hassan are brilliant; you fall in love with them and enter into their friendship--which is absolutely necessary to everything that follows. The snapping, battling kits are amazing and final image of the film ... well, it gets the sobbing started.)