I thought the shared curiosity of these kids was a great idea for a painting.
The original reference photo had the kids a much smaller part of the composition. I cropped closer on the kids.(Ref photo by “spydah” from the WetCanvas.com Ref Library.)
This is on 16x20" gesso board. (trying a new support).
First layer (underpainting) is cheap oil pastels, Lowell-Cornel, spread around with Res-N-Gel. (First photo)
The gesso board did a good job of letting the gel dry overnight. didn't dry as fast as paper but not too slow.
Then I started building up color using Sennelier oil pastels.
I still need to work the shadows a bit more on the little girl but I think I'm mostly done, just tweeking left to do.
