Final painting session 1, 2, 3, and 4

So I didn't write anything about my first session. I was feeling very confused/discouraged/lost during the first few sessions so maybe its good I didn't write anything because it would have been very whiny.  Anyways, Gail had suggested that I paint in layers, from the background to the foreground, and with so many layers I should start with acrylic paint and move to oil.  So in session 1 I painted in the shadows on the ground and the colored panels in the background.  I was still unsure what kind of techniques I was going to use and how abstract or real I was going to make it.

The next session I decided to test out using artists tape to make a kind of geometric texture in the background.  From this session onward I decided that this whole painting would be entirely experimentation and I would try out different things without caring too much about the outcome.  That's what we're supposed to do right? I think this attitude has helped me stop beating myself up and just see what happens.

SESSION 2:

So here's the result of session 2.  I thought it looked okay, but I wasn't too worried about it because it would be overlapped by the paper figures.  I was considering using the tape technique to each of the figures as I painted, so each would have horizontal stripes missing.. but I didn't end up doing that.

SESSON 3:

So I pretty much forgot about the taping off idea because I wanted to get the ball rolling. I just blocked everything in using acrylic paint.  It was at this point that I knew I couldn't simply re-paint everything in oil paint. It looked pretty dumb as is.  Just a bunch of cartoon weird shapes not realistic but not interesting just dumb.  So I knew I would have to do something drastic. Also the right bottom corner was really empty and boring and unbalanced. 

SESSION 4:
So I started painting at home.  I realized immediately that the lighting was affecting the model completely differently.  I needed a way to combine the two completely different images into one painting.  I also wanted to abstract the image more because the model on its own was stupid looking.   So! I decided to lay down a wider blue tape vertically and evenly across the painting.  Then, using oil paint, I painted the scene with the different lighting and zoomed in differently. Then I removed the tape to reveal the old image underneath.
                                            This is the result: (Picture quality is not very good)

Even if I'm unsure how much I really like this, I definitely know I like it more than it was before. I like that there is a feeling of searching through the layers and that there is still some feeling of depth.

So now where to go from here??
~~~~I was thinking of adding another layer of vertical tape and doing the whole thing over again, so there will be three different images overlapping..
~~~~Or maybe I lay on the tape horizontally?
~~~~The only thing is that now that I am using oil paint it is going to take longer to dry... so I'm unsure if I'll be able to lay down the tape again

Or maybe this whole thing looks really dumb and I should throw it out the window! 

I'll just see how dry it is by Sunday and make decisions from there.

slightly better picture: