Painterly Faces

Hello everyone!  I recently watched a YouTube video by the very talented Tamara Laporte (click her name to access the video).  She created a mixed media portrait in a loose, painterly style that I just love, so I figured I'd take a stab at it!
Using several different ink sprays in varying warm colors, I started my background with the gorgeous Arabian Nights Celestial stencil from Artist Cellar.

Next, I added some texture paste thru the same stencil. To give myself a heads start (ha!), I used matte medium to apply a Dina Wakley collage face to the background.  I love how you can still see the beautiful stencil design thru the tissue.

Next it was a matter of playing with a few caucasian flesh tones to add several layers of highlights and shadow.   Below are a few pics of the progression...

I'm pretty happy with how she turned out!!  I stuck with mostly cool tones to pop against the background, and I love the bright orange and yellow on her face.  Also the stencil texture is still visible under the paint and that is super cool!

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Kitty