Triceratops in Rose

Lately I've continued to play around with watercolors.

I'm trying to learn how to layer colors to achieve different effects.  In particular, I continue to learn how to build volume.

Plus, I just like to noodle around with my supplies.

So for this effort, I took a pretty large sketchbook and gessoed one page.  You'll see the grainy texture from the gesso in the photos below.

Then I applied a thin wash of Winsor and Newton rose to the background.

Next, I sketched my model triceratops in pencil (to make sure I fit the whole thing on the page).  Then I put in thin pen lines.

Next I began to add watercolor.  Rose and teal.  I built up layers for a while.  I know I added a warmer red in there a cool blue for the shadows, but I don't remember what.  Then I wanted to put back some highlights, so I went in on the face with a Posca paint pen.

While I was liking what I was getting, I didn't feel like these were the colors which should dominate the entire drawing.  So I stepped back, thought about it, and then went for it with darker blue and violet in the shadow areas, and more yellow and orange in the lighter spots.  I did a light wash with green over the whole thing. 

And finally, I returned to restate the contour ink lines, but this time with a dip pen.

I very much like the results!

I regret that I got so involved in the flow of scribbling with the paints that I didn't keep better track of what I used.

I know that I made at least ten passes as I layered this.

While I liked the visual "noise" of the gessoed surface a lot, I wonder if it could damage my brush?  I'm not sure I'd return to this surface unless I took more care to use a cheap brush!