After the sketching in, comes the first underpainting. I work in a modified Venetian technique which divides the work of a painting into value first, then color. This, I find to be a very efficient way to produce a painting. The Venetians (Titian, etc.) tended to use black and white for their underpaintings -- I use raw umber and white. It produces a great warm grey-brown and umbers dry very fast -- usually overnight!
I like to cover the canvas in the first go even if I don't know what the final color of the background will be. I've blocked in the main light and darks, and suggested the direction of how the hair will be. The sweater is black so I just used a solid block of raw umber to darken that area. The background is a light dove grey.
Tomorrow -- Finishing the Underpainting!
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