Here I've finished the figures in the background and before going in and working heavily on the face and torso I wanted to get the other background/foreground elements in the works. I add in a dark swatch of color for the splashed water and start putting in reflected shapes. I also throw color into the fish and add some cast warm lights to add contrast to the heavy darks/blues at the top.
Step 10: Detailing:
Finally I get into put details into the face and torso. As this is the main focus of the painting I put a lot of time into this, often going back over an area 2 or 3 times to get it down right.
Step 11: Final:
Once the face and torso are finished I go back and add in her hair. At this point I look over the entire picture for things that need tweaking. I beef up cast shadows, pay more attention to reflections and in general concentrate on making sure all the elements of the picture work well together... refining color, warming up or cooling down areas, etc. Getting too obsessed with detail at the expense of the rest of the painting is an easy trap to fall into. That's why the final step of the painting is so important. Don't be afraid to go back and take detail away from an area if need be.
Whew! That's it! Once everything is up to snuff, sign that sucker.
