"Tether" Painting Progress

Hi peeps, 

I wanted to share the progress of "Tether" with you so far. 

I have been finding the process of painting this piece a lot smoother than I was expecting it to be.
I think that that is in great part thanks to the studies I made of it in Procreate before I started painting. The fact that I have the values and composition all figured out in depth before I even put brush to paper has hugely helped me in streamlining the process, and all I have had to do was follow my digital sketch. 

I have been using acrylics, with gouache for the highlights, and I am painting on a piece of Daler Rowney watercolour board. It is a very pleasant surface to work on, as it doesn't warp at all and is very smooth. 

Since the painting is rather big, I have set it up on my easel.
I am not used to working on my feet as much as I used to anymore, but I find it a lot easier to focus on the task at hand when I am standing, so I do want to try and work off of my easel more often in the future. It is also healthier than sitting all day at my desk...

As you can see above, I taped my digital sketch to the wall in front of me, for easy reference. 

I have been taking regular pictures of the piece, so I will putting a detailed explanation of my process together in a PDF once I am finished painting. 

Here are a few of my work in progress pictures so far. 

Adding the shadows to the vines was probably the most satisfying part of the whole thing at that point. 

The stone was also very enjoyable to paint, especially when using acrylics. 

The curtain is still the element I am having the most trouble figuring out at the moment.
I want it to be light and sheer, but also reasonably defined and not too hazy, which will take some experimenting. 

The birds have also been a very pleasant experience to paint. I wasn't certain I wanted an outline for them initially, but I am very glad I did outline them in the end, as I find that it makes them stand out not only in colour and definition, but in style also. 

And this is my overall progress so far! 

I wasn't expecting to be this far along at this point in time, but I am very glad I am, as I intend on this painting being the main topic of my channel relaunch Youtube video at the end of the month, and being this far along with it is easing a lot of stress and pressure. 

We'll see how next week goes, but I hope to be done then. 

The character will obviously be the most challenging part of the whole process, so I am quite intimidated by that stage, but we'll see how it goes. 

I will obviously keep you all updated as I go! 

I hope you are all doing well and are having a wonderful week end!

On my part, I went for a run, fed some crows, baked some bread and took care of my little plants ( I am growing a bunch of stuff hydroponically, and I am obsessed), and I am now going to go sit on the sofa and try and finish a few tasks on my Ipad. 

Thank you for tuning in,
Take good care of yourself, and I'll see you again soon.

All my love,
M