Abstract brush strokes makes a great stage for an underpainting. On dry 140# Arches rough paper big lose strokes are painted there is no drawing.
When paper is dry, using a store front photograph, I made up my own scene...with the lady and other shapes. Negative shapes here and there with a few more darks finished the painting. Looking closely at the finish, hints of the underpainting show through...underpaintings can be applied to dry or wet paper.
