A background wash of the sunlit meadow has been added to the rest of the painting with progressive textures to be overlaid on top of this to match the background already completed.
This wash is quite loose, but  texture will be added in layers, using masking fluid, in much the same way as a batik is produced.
I do not want the background to be dominant, but it has to 'ring' true to nature, with its slightly understated tones providing contrast to the strongly focussed tones of the subject.