Friday, October 19, 2012

It's a Wet, Wet, World!

I finished the mermaid that I started yesterday. I took a few more pictures along the way, so the process can be seen. It's a little weird to look back at it and see where I was going with it:

So I started here with the cool frame I found, and drew a mermaid for it specifically:


Popped in the background:


Started in on the underpainting (scary purple alien fish!):


Worked on the tail:


Blocked in the body:


Finished highlighting the skin, and added some scales and a face:


And then finished her up!


And popped her into the frame, and voila!


I decided to list her, which I decided to call Ruby, on Etsy instead of my main site. Mostly because I'm selling her with the frame, which is sort of a new experience for me. The frame is very heavy, owing to the solid resin (although at first I thought it was metal, because it's THAT solid.) I really like the idea of these neat frames with the panels, but we'll see if anyone likes that or not. Since I cover shipping, I'll probably take a major hit on the shipping.

Anyway, I enjoyed creating something for the frame instead of finding a frame for what I created. It was a nice little switch-up! And, I think I've burned myself out on mermaids for a little bit (I know, two is hardly a burn-out, but still...) Time to get some of the commission work out of the way, and see if I can't clear out some of the holiday backlog in my studio too.

So much to do! I appreciate all the suggestions on gesso and sanding. I'm definitely going to look into it. I need a smoother surface for my details than these medium tooth panels provide!

8 comments:

  1. Kyra, she is a vision in waves and womanhood. Stunning.

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  2. It's so interesting to watch the process of another artist. I now can see how you achieve the richness of color in your paintings. She is a stunning mermaiden. If you need shipping boxes at good prices, check out ULINE, they have everything.

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    1. I love looking at other's processes too! :) I've checked out ULINE, they seem good on prices, but the shipping to get it to me is a bit high.

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  3. Hi Kyra ;o) Your art is gorgeous!! I think the mermaid looks amazing in the frame! They really complement each other ;o) Thanks so much for coming by my blog ;o) Have a great day ;o) Stacy ;o)

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  4. I'm sorry, again I've been reading your posts in my inbox and not coming here to comment....

    She is stunning, Kyra...the pose is so fluid....and I love the way you incorporate colorful scales all over their bodies when you paint mermaids!
    I think it'll be so much better for you to charge for shipping when you're on Etsy. People will gladly pay to get your beautiful art to them :)

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    1. Yeah, I think I'm going to have to figure out the shipping issues with Etsy and the cost it runs me to list through them verses my main site. Hmm.

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