value does the work/color gets the glory

The drawing and the small pastel painting (link here) were done en plein air, while the grisaille was completed in the studio. It may still need some small value adjustments. Doing detailed grisailles really makes me become a part of the painting early on. I really like that aspect. Plus I have always loved to draw. I am not quite sure why I stopped doing it for its own sake. hmmmmm
I continue to wait for the return of all my oils from Florida ( I shipped them UPS ground- Thursday is the due date)  Meanwhile I am chomping at the bit to get the color on these grisailles!
 The chant, one I learned long, long ago from Richard: Value does the work, color gets the glory.

open grisaille/swamp painting

6x6 oil on board
Using my many swamp studies and my detailed drawing I have created an underpainting for a new painting. I pushed myself not to just get the feel but to try to get as much information as I felt necessary to read swamp, fog, quiet and a heck of a lot of mystery. I did a detailed drawing on the board before applying paint.
Sadie's blog talks a lot about surfaces so check that to learn more. For this one I am painting on a gesso board that I sanded and am painting with turpentine and transparent brown oxide (instead of the raw umber and ultramarine blue I used last week.)  Landscapes need a warm underlayer.
The effect is much like the monochromatic watercolor underpaintings I sometimes did for pastel.
I was VERY careful when painting the edges. Decisions about edges are made last. If you make sharp edges in an underpainting it's hard to lose them.
Still missing Florida!