Today’s sketch

As we inch towards Mer-May and dreams of summer, my mind turns to one of my favorite subjects-Mermaids.

If you live anywhere near Berlin, Md, and have not been to the mermaid museum, you really must go!

We are planning a trip there in the spring.

Today’s sketch

Today, I started with a plain, uncoated cradled wood panel and sketched directly onto it.

I already knew that I wanted to paint a mermaid with a pink sky.

First, I drew the mermaid’s body, minus the tail.

Once I was happy with the way my mermaid looked, I spent a good bit of time trying out different mermaid tails until I found the one I wanted.

Inked sketch

I like the way today’s mermaid has a serene feeling. She is just sitting and calmly looking out to sea.

Once my sketch was complete, I inked over it with an India Ink Faber Castell, Pitt Artist Pen in Black, F, 0.5

Faber Castell, Pitt Artist Pen – F, 0.5, Black, India Ink 

After inking, I erased my pencil lines and topped my sketch off with a light coat of Golden Matte Medium.

My main colors today will be a pink (for my finished background) with yellow, navy, and turquoise accents.

My palette

I started by lightly painting Creamy Yellow (Holbein D037) and Ivory Yellow (T.A.G) over most of the panel. You can see it below…

Next, I put in the beach using navy blue (Jane Davenport), Ivory Yellow (T.A.G), and Juane Brilliant (H.A.G.).

Hair and tail..

After that, I painted her hair and tail, saving her torso for last.

I’m happy to say that I love the way her hair and tail turned out!

Next, her torso…

I took time to experiment with different color combinations for her torso.

Did I want to paint her torso completely in greens and blues? in flesh colors with shadows and highlights of greens and blue? or flesh colors with outlines of green and blue?

I actually painted, washed off the paint, and repainted her torso many times before I got to what you see.

The background

After that, I painted the pale pink background and added a few more sweeps of yellow, along with some white markings.

Lastly, I finished off my painting with Creamy Yellow sides.

Have a great day!

Published by sharietomlinson

I’m Sharie. Owner of Butterfly Bunny Studio. Mixed Media Watercolor Artist, Bunny & Disney Lover, Gardener, Proud Mother to Josh, Bunny Momma to Princess Buttercup Bunny and Wifey to Jason. I am located in Columbia, Md but I’m a Harford County girl at heart! You can find me on Etsy at Butterflybunnystudio.store and on Instagram at @notjoshsmom Email me at butterflybunnyarts@gmail.com

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