I went with French Ultramarine Blue, which, in the case of Windsor & Newton Professional Series, is actually made from ground up semi-precious Lapis Lazuli. At this stage I am only blocking in color. The trick is to maintain the values and intensities as I build up the layers of transparent color to give solidity and dimensionality to the subject matter. One of the good things about Arches paper is that it can take repeated washes of new color over old without ruining the layers below. As I progress, I will increasingly use a drybrush technique - paint on a brush that has had most of the water squeezed out of it - weaving the textures of the grass, leaves, trees, old metal glider, porch rails, etc. This is where it starts to get really fun.

I finished a slow, detailed re-read of the final galley and identified at least three interior illustration images and an endpaper image to do. One was suggested by Brian. Another involves his dog Steve, and Brian provided me with some photos, so we'll have at least one good Steve portrait in this one. That "Chugga Chugga" train may be a problem, though. I went to a local Toys "R" Us and could not find the thing. I may have to go with something else for illustration #4.