WIP-Whimsical carving part 2

Life has certainly been getting in the way of my painting:-)
 This painting  - of a very whimsical, joker-like carved head that I photographed a few miles only from my house- should have been finished last week. But as you can see, I still have lots and lots of work left on this...although the right hand side will have some unpainted areas.   I have been putting in a few shapes every day and it looks like a puzzle at the moment. Hopefully, it will all come together eventually.

This is on Fabriano Artistico SP 140lb. It is very white...with hindsight, a less bright paper may have been preferable.
I still have not decided if I will varnish this painting and adhere it to a 16" X 16" birch panel ; this would mean cropping off at least an inch horizontally and vertically.  This option would be less expensive than having the painting matted and framed...It will be easier to decide I suppose once the painting is finished and can be assessed.

What do you think?

NEW WIP - Whimsical Carving

This is my first post of 2012 although we are almost halfway through January! My daughter spent time with us and then, since the beginning of this week, my mother is here recuperating from carpal tunnel surgery. This does not mean that I have not painted at least a bit every day.

I am currently working on a 16" X 16" watercolor of a most fascinating stone carving I discovered, not in Venice this time, but in my own city of Ottawa:  a new building housing a well-known stonemason company boasts 3 whimsical, but beautiful,  heads carved in stone. Here are images of my WIP depicting, with artistic license, one of them:

I am finding it very challenging, but I am enjoying the process, especially trying to show the tool marks in the stone. This is not something that is still visible in the old Venetian mascaroni that I have painted.... I am somewhat hesitant to attack the other eye which is mostly in shadows...I think that it will make or break this painting.

The paper is 140lb SP Fabriano Artistico. I like its bright white color and how easy it is to lift on this paper...as long as it's not glued down to a wood panel as I sometimes do.

Thank you for having a look and do leave me your comments...I always appreciate so much your feedback!
Enjoy your weekend!