Circle of Prayer [acrylic on canvas panel, 14”x11”]

This painting is another one begun with a variety of Golden’s acrylic mediums textured with my stash of mostly household odds & sods.  It’s a fun way to begin.  Here’s what it looked like at various stages along the way:

1. Just a bunch of texture with the first bit of painting on it.  At this point I am forcing myself to keep it abstract – a hard job when I can “see” subjects popping here and there.
2. Here I’ve tried to glaze off some of the extreme purple and make some “bones” to hold it together.
3. Texture detail…  some of it is 1/8” or more thick molding paste, some lines of tar gel drizzle, flat gesso areas scraped in places, etc.
4. At this point I was unable to deny the the obvious scarf covered woman’s head in the top left …  I came back to subject again with these abstracted figures by painting their hands and faces white and glazing skin tones.  This still needs more bones to hold it together. Although I have added some opaques throughout the painting, they are not jumping out nor are they obvious enough to hold the hands and faces in a context. 
5. I’ve now added more opaques in a grid which, I hope, completes the understructure. Am I done?  I think I’m close.  This is one of those paintings that I have to sleep on.  Cheers!