Another 2.5 hours spent on this today, so 5 hours in total. A dark transparent layer of paint over the lot, and then some concentrated work on the muzzle, and then the eye. I have decided to make the current layer as detailed as I can, because the painting is so big I have had to find a way to break it down in to manageable chunks timewise.
Pretty happy with it so far, think I will have a good basis for the next layer of detail and will perhaps have saved some time too. Below is a photo of the muzzle close up; still plenty of work left in it- determined to try and make it as realistic a painting as I possibly can!
