OVERKILL!

I texturized the dickens out of this piece of paper then kept piling on the paint. I used some of my new stamps in dots and
checks for the pattern. After I looked at it for a few days, I decided today to add the face and words. I drew the head with a Vis-a-Vis marker, created a little contouring with a wet brush and tried to lift the paint for highlights. Surprise! The paint wouldn't lift. It should have because I am working on a gesso surface. I will have to think on why no lifting. Perhaps one has to lift the paint while it is fairly fresh. This has been sitting since the weekend. I decided to use the white watercolor from the Dr. Martin's set for highlights. I wrote the words with my quill in full strength Payne's Gray , let it dry, and then squirted it with water to let the color run. I like the overall idea of texture but I think I may have gone overboard with the background and the white looks too pasty. I may try to put a glaze over the face or maybe over the entire painting to pull it all together. It's not a "keeper" but I think I am moving in on something.