Valerie Mangion
Here is the way one painting, Fire in the Snow, part of the Egypt series, evolved.
quick sketch with vine charcoal
underpaint with complementary color
if you start with a color's complement, the top layer will be more vibrant. I know the sky is going to end up in the pink-ish range, so I start with green-ish
blue flames to start
block in branches
red eyes start green; yellow start
purple
more branches
orange-y warmth under blue-ish snow
heading towards a final color
here comes snow
some warmth on the horizon
flames!
warmth in flames
sketching in trees
starting to paint trees
more trees...
and branches (and second moon)
rock outcropping appears
smoke...
refining foreground snow
the egyptian owl ...
gets refined...
and more refined
the snowy owl starts to emerge
painting owl feathers
more feathers
and more feathers
and more feathers
and more feathers
and more feathers...
I spent a month just painting the feathers on this one bird. Then I decided he or she needed a different face.
The finished painting
I didn't photograph every single stage, but enough of them so you get the idea. I worked on this painting over the course of about five months.