As typical I start a painting by toning the canvas with a wash of cadmium red light. Followed direct sketching of the subject in the cad red light then adding ultramarine blue as I start to block in the darker areas.
As I continue on the painting I start to define the shapes by indicating the local color. By local color I am referring to the actual color of the subject. I'm not trying for the final color but I want to establish the pattern of the shapes in the composition. I will be working back into each area to establish how each color relates to the one next to it. I typically try to get the darks in place first. Painting a dark color over an area that contains white in it makes getting the darks dark enough.
I continue adding more detail as I work on the painting. 
Please excuse the variations of color with these images. The lighting in the room when the painting was photographed was not consistent. The incandescent lights give the images a warmer, yellower cast.
Below is the final image of the painting. Again please note the color shift, this was photographed under different lighting conditions. I took this image outdoors with indirect natural light.
24" x 20" oil on canvas
This painting is larger then most of my recent paintings, so there is much more detail on this painting then is typical for the smaller paintings. I worked on this painting over a two week period, the smaller paintings are complete in a session or two.
