Stage 8: Building the texture of the skin, working towards mid-value colors

Because this painting is all about texture, I avoided blending any of the pastel marks.  The advantage of having the underpainting is that it provides a layer of color so that I am not trying to cover up the white of the board.  And the advantage of the textured ground is that the texture is doing most of the work.  I do not have to “draw” each little detail of the skin.  I let the randomness of the textured ground create the nuances.  However, if I began blending, the texture would be lost.