Starting the Elf Owl

Here are the first faint washes on my Elf Owl painting, which kinda looks like one of Toulouse Lautrec's Moulin Rouge posters at the moment  (I think it's the colors):

Painting on black is tricky.  To help with the process I created a black palette that would facilitate accurate color mixing, but a gray palette may have been a better choice since I find myself constantly mixing my colors a few shades too dark.

For this painting I want to avoid a strong atmospheric effect in order to keep it natural history-esque, which is why I'll be mixing warmer colors than what you'd normally see in a moonlit scene.  I'll continue to post progress shots as the painting continues!