As I was talking to one of my professors, he directed me to this site created by Paul Behnke called Structure and Imagery. He told me to look at many of the works that are posted on Behnke's blog because there are a lot of artists that deal with layering and allowing pieces of underpainting to show through. I thought Gilfilen's painting below is a great example of what inspires me.

I'm doing a little reposting;

Tether, 2011, oil on canvas, 72 x 65 in.

Image courtesy of the artist. © Elizabeth Gilfilen

From the press release:

In all her work, Gilfilen’s interest in spatial complexity and layering is apparent. Her generous use of negative space serves to enhance the raw power that comes from the core of the painting. While the activity within Gilfilen’s paintings can be fierce and active, a closer look reveals great restraint and a very concise, specific set of visual cues that she uses to create these abstract representations. Her paintings can appear volatile and deliberate at the same time and piecing that puzzle together results in paintings that are anything but arbitrary.