Woodland Magic

New Version ready to paint

I'm going to share some of the progress of the painting I'm working on. I mentioned it briefly in my last post.  This is a re-imagining of an older sketch.  I liked the old concept, which had her as a goblin queen with a goblin king in a forest with goblins lurking about.

Old / Original Version

I don't know what happened exactly, but I just lost enthusiasm for this original concept and couldn't seem to finish the painting.  But I always loved the sketches, particularly of the the queen.

So I decided to do something with her, but a bit different and in a smaller scale.  Still with a lot of detail though.  She had to be in a forest scene again.  That is just the setting that I imagined for her all along and I couldn't imagine her any other way.

I have a lot of work still to go in this medium-sized painting (8.5 x 11"), but I'm really enjoying the process so far.  I'm starting to see it's potential now, so I hope it turns out as well as I'd like!  :)  I'm thinking it might be called, Woodland Magic, but I'm still tossing around ideas in my head.  That's what I like best so far though.  Sometimes, I have a title in mind right from the beginning.  Others, I try to think of it as I work.  Here are some progress shots:

I put some masking fluid over the main figure and the moths and twisty stick.  Then I just started filling in the background colors.

I have the basic foundation down here, so now is time to start adding the details...

Started working on the foliage, and darkening things up...

Foliage is one of those things that makes me a bit nervous to work on. I'm a little intimidated by it.  I try to go by my instincts when working on it, but I'm unsure how well it will go.

I painted in the lantern and stick/pole thing...

I think it's starting to look pretty neat at this point.  Now on to more foliage work...

This is my last and most up-to-date progress shot for the moment. I'll edit this post with more.
The glowy, magic moths are pretty much done, I think.  Now I'm working on adding detail to the foliage... my favorite part.  lol

*July 19th* The background is almost done now.  The photo washed out a lot of the details and the ground isn't quite that dark.  A little more work and I'll be able to start on the girl.  I'm still debating on whether I should make the far background darker or leave it like it is.  hmmm...

*July 20th* I'm pretty much done with the background now.  I'm going to move on the painting the girl.  Once she's done I can take another look at the background and see if anything needs adjusting.

New ACEO Painting and WIP

"Sapphire Angel"

This is a commissioned ACEO that I finished last week.  She's based on a few different elements from some of my other paintings, mainly my other ACEO, Dragon Angel.

I like how she turned out a lot!  But then I always love working in blue!  :)

Limited Edition Prints are available of her on my website.  And also in my Ebay and Etsy stores!

 

While on the subject of Etsy, I have sale going on right now.  Get 20% off everything!!  Including original art and jewelry.  It was just going to be for the weekend, but I'm going to let it run for a few more days!  :)

Enter the coupon code SALE20 to get this deal.

Also, my forth sheet of Rubber Stamps is now available for pre-order!! This sheet includes my painting, "Lilac" "Waterfall Mist" "The Secret Temple" and "Fairy of the Spring Bloom." A very detailed set of stamps! Get them and my other stamps HERE

Some more of my work has also been released as fabric patches at Kat's Magical Patches.  See them all HERE

I created a neat little welcome page for my Facebook Fan Page!  "Like" me there to get all my latest news as fast as possible.  Or sign up for my newsletter on my website.

Next up, I'm going to begin painting the picture to the right!  This is a re-imagining of an older sketch/painting that never got finished.  Originally it had a guy in the picture and some goblins, but I'd somehow lost interest in it and never got it done.  But I've always loved the girl in the drawing, so I decided to take her and paint her in her own scene, which is still in a forest because that is just where she belongs.  ;)  I added in a lantern and some magical glowing moths!  I hope that it turns out like I image!  Foresty scenes aren't the easiest.
I would have begun this today if it weren't for the awful headache that I had all day!  I managed to get together and mail all the orders from over the weekend, but that's the most that I could manage.  Hopefully tomorrow will be a better day!

Last of all, is that I have a new-ish necklace to share!  This was finished maybe 2-3 weeks ago.  It's a multi-chain necklace with a silk ribbon-tie closure!  With this ribbon closure, it can be worn in a variety of different lengths!  It is available in my Etsy shop!  (and can be gotten for 20% off if purchased in the next few days!).