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.
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
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.
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!