Here we are at the final stretch before I transfer this painting to paper!  This part seems as easy as coloring in the major forms to look pretty, but I assure you it isn’t, or at least it’s never that easy for me! I agonized with how to make these colors harmonize while still featuring the July birthstone of Ruby as a central theme.

Number 1 was my first instinct for color.  The teal of the background really pops the ruby red of the Lady. However, with purple, blue, and orange mixed in, there were too many primary colors that were fighting for dominance.  Not to mention the overall scheme was too dark, causing the Lady to be lost in dark values.

Lightening up the background in the next iterations helped to keep the magpies from being lost in the darkness.  Number 3 was interesting, but the orange flowers just draw too much attention away from the Lady and make the image feel too busy, since they start to harmonize more with the lanterns as a visual element.  I like the lighter orange in the trim and sheer cloth.  Number 2 is my favorite out of these for bringing visual interest back into the flowers, while still keeping them relatively subtle.  The lighter trim also draws the eye down through the figure, accentuating the curving flow of the hair as well.

Ah how difficult this was!  I just have to share what amazing variations I’ve found in the Larkspur (Delphinium) plant so you can see why my muse went in a hundred different directions.  That being said, I can’t wait to see what people will do with the coloring pages for this Lady!

And now it’s time to FINALLY start transferring the line art to paper and start inking this Lady!  Stay tuned to my social media outlets for little inking videos and such.  This next part goes fast, thanks to all the prep, so hopefully she’ll be done very, very soon!  Stay tuned!

If you’d like to pre-order a print of this Lady, check out my Reward tiers on Patreon that will let you get a simple open edition print OR a super swanky limited edition gold leafed print!

This has been your Patreon-only sneak peek.
Thanks so much for your support!

After I figured out my source inspiration for Lady of July in the Qixi and Tanabata festivals, she came together rather quickly!  I had the perfect pose in mind to depict her free flying nature thanks to this lovely pose by dazzle-stock on DeviantART, which served as a base.  

I arranged my elements, keeping in mind I wanted a simple background of a night sky to push the brightness of the lanterns and also to keep the image from being too busy since the main figure and elements were already very detailed.  I changed the pose by adding her far arm and refining the arc of the body with a different pose for the legs.  This gave her a stronger upwards arc and sense of direction.

Next, I moved on to the window design, which proved more challenging than I expected!  The figure covers a good deal of the window, which meant the main decorative elements needed to be on the outer edge of the window.  The window also needed to have larger shapes in it so that it didn’t overwhelm the complexity of the main elements, which was a challenge with the detailed nature of Larkspur!

I went through a few variations before I found something that felt right!  These all felt a little too generic, with just the Larkspur and the lines.  The 3rd design with the tiling started to put me on the right track with an Asian-inspired tile feel.  I eventually settled on a final design inspired by the undulating star explosion caused by fireworks, which fit the themes of July so well!  The Larkspur became much more simplified as tendrils of abstract elements emulating the ‘arms’ of a firework’s shape.

With all of my line art figured out, it’s time to enter the final phase of prep where I figure out the colors and finally transfer this painting to paper!

This has been your Patreon-only sneak peek.
Thanks so much for your support!