Crafting a mixed media painting around the themes of "Balance" and "India"

This commissioned work was rather fun! Got to explore some more unusual themes thanks to my old friend Mikhel.

I'd like to shed a little bit of light on my creative process while turning an initial sketch into a finished painting. I'll be using a painted piece of mine that I finished in 2016 (Fairly recently actually), while the drawing may not be new, the process is still more or less the same. Only now I have more practice. :)

The painting eventually turned into one of my better painting and it still hangs at Miks place in London today.

Enjoy!

Brahman is the world soul, expressed not only in gods, but in humans, animals, trees, in a handful of earth, everything has a trace of then divine in it. No different from the spiritual force within us; the soul. Atman, a human’s soul, , seeks to realize Brahman, to be united with the Absolute, and it travels in this life on a pilgrimage where it is born and dies, and is born and dies again, and again, and again, until it manages to shed the sheaths that imprison it here below. The paths to liberation are numerous, but the bank along the way is always the same, the Bank of Karma, where the liberation account of each one of us is credited or debited depending on our actions. This, in a holy nutshell, is Hinduism. source for quote
A cityscape where past meets present built into the water with indian and viennese touches. “For all its faults we love this city.’ Then, after a pause, she added: ‘After all, we built it.”
― William Dalrymple, City of Djinns: A Year in Delhi
An elephant head (as inspired by Ganesha) balancing scales with his tusks. Not bad but a little too primal for my tastes!
A more western take on the concepts of balance and liberty. The statue is a classic icon and the background a little more abstract. She's a bit too much of a floosy in this case though so let's aim for something a little classier.
Eventually I came up with a sketch I liked! This lady of serenity holding scales I then scanned in and took it into Photoshop. There I separated the lines from the background and adjusted levels, curves and contrast.
The digitalised final product. Spent about two hours coloring and tinkering with the layer containing the sketch in Photoshop. Painted above and below the layer that contains the sketch and then I played with the blend modes and filters some.
About two thirds of the way through turning the sketch back into a painting! The character is already along pretty far and there are several hints of color already. The blanket upon which it is laid is super fluffy and you can even wear it!
Adding more and more color at this stage along with some detail. I like the contrast that the hard angles of the floor boards provide. Might wanna think about getting some new socks too.
The final painting in its new home in London! Smokin' is bad mmkay. :P

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Hint of the Day:

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If you ever forget to clean your brushes right after using them and they turn all hard and sticky you can usually restore them fairly easily by wrapping their tops with newspaper soaked in water and a bit of brush cleaning liquid (low alcohol content rec.). Afix with a bit of masking tape. Leave it over night and the next day you can wash em easily and they'll be almost like new! ^^.

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Hope you guys feel positively illuminated at this stage. It ain't magic, it's sweat and practice. It's old newspaper, sitting on the floor for hours in awkward positions and using whatever colorful thing you find that leaves a mark. Don't forget to have fun too while you're at it!

I'll still be archiving my stuff for a while, still got tons of character studies, life drawings, illustration exercise and graphic design bits to show, watch this space for additional pieces in the future. Back to the drawing board.

clear skies and seas ahead,

ZeroOoC

Check out some of my other recent posts nyah:

• Reel Big Fish - Sellout, live @ Arena - HD Concert Video (videography/music)
• Color Challenge: Monday Red - Lou de Boudoir (photography)
• "The Endangered Island" - OC graphic design for Steemit (graphic design)
• 'Aspect of Libra' [OC] Painting process (painting/journal)