Jewel of the Sea walkthrough- painting process part 1

I wanted to play with complementary colors and I choosed various greens for the sea and a fiery mix of orange and red for the coral. 

Here's a first scan of the background in progress !

The color of the sea is a mix of various layers of Terry Harrison's "country olive" and "midnight green " (a deep olive green and deep forest green) and of Daniel Smith's "undersea green"( a more yellowish green). This green is simply wonderful ! It seems to be made out of seaweed !

I let each layer dry before adding a new color and I used sea salt and rubbing alcohol to create texture.

The coral has been created by mixing Windsor and  Newton's "Brown Madder" and Daniel Smith's "Quinacridone deep gold" and by adding sea salt and table salt when the paint was still wet. I'm so happy with the texture it created when drying !! :) 

The maiden's skin is a mix of both the sea and the coral colors to really create the impression that she is an underwater creature and that she is part of the sea. Her hair are a strong mix of Terry Harrison's "country olive" and "Daniel Smith's "undersea green".

I added more structure to the coral and painted the seaweed using the wonderful "undersea green" color from Daniel Smith ! Just perfect for underwater landscapes !!! :) 

Any comments or questions ? Feel free to ask or leave your impressions !!! :)

Jewel of the Sea walkthrough -idea and sketch

Hello everyone !! 

Here's a preview of the new painting I'm working on ! 

I have the idea to paint an underwater creature but I didn't wished to paint a mermaid again. I got the idea to create a maiden of the sea which would be dressed in coral and seashells.

Here's the sketch:

I really wished to create like a dress around her and make her part of the seabed ! :)
Do you like  it ?

The Morrigan

Here we are final painting of "The Morrigan" ! :) 

The background has been created with various washes of indigo, lighter blues and greys and adding salt between the various washes to create some texture. For the raven I didn't want to paint them "plain black" but instead I tried to create a very dark mix of payne's grey, indigo and dark purple.

This painting is a litte bit more "conceptual" but  I thouhgt it represent her magical and shapeshifting aspect well. :) 

Do you like this new "style/concept" ? Any comments or suggestions are more than welcome ! :)

"The Morrigan" final sketch

All Hollow's Eve is approaching !! This is the final sketch of my coming new painting: "The Morrigan" ! 

I tried something more "conceptual" as I wished to focus on her face and to surround the figure with the Godesse's elements: the full moon and the raven.

The Evening Star

A new painting !!

I really tried to work more on character faces and body proportions and I'm quite happy how her face in profil turned out in this painting. 

I had the idea of representing Venus called "the evening star" and associated to gold which is reputed to be the first and most brillant star to appear in the night sky. 

It's also the first painting where I used more acrylic than watercolor !