Merwoman in Oils - Part 3

What began as an 'easy' project very quickly turned into huge challenges; first the symmetry of the eyes, then the reflections within the pupils, then the reflection within the water. Oh and lets not forget the correct placement of the hair.

In order to make the eyes pop I applied a golden yellow to the lid which complemented the purple quite nicely. The deep green of the hair seemed to enhance the translucency of the skin and frame the eyes with a bit more drama. The Prussian Blue and Cadmium Yellow Pale Hue with a touch of Lamp Black created a rich deep green perfect for the hair.

Although challenging, I've thoroughly enjoyed working on this piece - it has been rewarding to tackle a subject I would never have considered even a year ago. Not to mention, this is my first completely original piece. Yes I did use several photo references in order to gain realistic perspective, but the image was straight from my imagination.

Now that the main image is complete, I will work on refining the reflection within the water...as you can see the reflections of the eyes are not quite right, and the hair needs to be softly blurred/distorted.

My daughter is immensely pleased with the outcome and I am thrilled to bring one of her character's to life. A special project through and through.

REWARDING: The hair is much more pleasing than I had anticipated, and I was able to avoid the need to paint in ears...YES!
CHALLENGING: eye reflections, water reflections