today's work; starting a new one

I used to stick to finishing one piece before starting another, but recently, particularly since getting back into playing with oils and their glacial drying times, I've loosened up into letting myself have several paintings sharing head (and room) space... both are, clearly, at a premium.

This piece, at least at its inception, is "Colonization"... unless another word floats into the magic 8-ball of my mind that suits better. I sort of hope it does. It's speaking to how love and its intense and myriad hangers-on seem to take over my mind, distracting me from myself, my work and my center to the point of draining me out. It's also a companion piece to "5 thousand", which is floating about the Red Room, not done yet. It needed a friend.

The Room with its shiny new canvas.

The Project Manager is, as usual, concerned.
Some initial sketches.
GAH!
First pencils...
Hacking out some first background in acrylics...I'm always tempted to leave it like this and call it good. I love the liveliness of the pencil sketches; it often seems like some of that is lost in the finicking of finalizing.
Some first base-layering with acrylics... it looks like a horrorshow. And apologies for the odd angles and crops; I have 4 feet of depth to get away from my work, it makes for difficult photographing.
...and now it's almost 3 am.