Aaron's X-Wing

I began this piece with my son's love for everything vehicles as my guide.  After some initial planning, I knew I wanted my composition to have a fair amount of energy so I texturized the canvas with diagonal marks.  Having the majority of my painting in earth tones, I chose a cadmium red ground with a high contrasting green underpainting.  I worked in glazes to add a new layer of coverage to the bright ground, careful not to let the vibrancy get too lost in the freshly lain paint. Considering how the X-wing interacts with its environment, I used the hazy clouds and beams of light to merge the subject of the foreground with the background. While working on this piece, I especially loved using the texturized canvas to highlight some notes in the paint, and look forward to using that technique again.  Take a look below at some process and detail shots, and let me know what you think.