I thought it was time to switch things up and create another fantasy illustration so I painted this rainforest fairy during our Columbus Day weekend family paint fest. This painting was quite time consuming and challenging but I learned a lot and I’m satisfied with the end result. This painting is based on a tutorial from “How to Draw and Paint Fairyland,” by Linda Ravenscoft.
Your work with colours is amazing!
Thank you, Miss Baretta.
You made such a wonderful painting!
Thank you, Elena. The colors are more subdued than my usual choices.
You saved the best for last from your Columbus Day family painting fest.
Awe, thanks, Tim.
The colors are sumptuous – almost velvety. Very nice. I’ll bet this was a fun departure for you. I find I get very different senses of satisfaction from continuing to build on themes I’m used to, and branching off in new directions.
Working a single theme or genre on an extended basis gives the feeling of progression – like you are on a path to mastery. Each new painting seems to build on the last one in a fairly apparent way.
I often find myself wanting to try something new, and the novelty can be exhilarating. It can lead to new insights as well. Keep going where your imagination takes you, right?
Thank you, Gabriel. I found the orange-red shade that I used on the flowers difficult to work with as the pigment would settle on the bottom of my palette and often resulted in little pink specks on my painting. I had to remix it frequently to prevent that from happening. This painting required many layers of washes so it was quite time consuming. And I found the small facial features particularly challenging. My niece is the one who keeps encouraging me to paint fairies. I have to admit I quite enjoy painting them.