I believe someday I'll give it a story- and haha wow! I love that it can do that for you :) That's why art is so awesome! I'll be sharing more over time- and thank you for being so welcoming!

Thank you Mats! I look forward to sharing more!

Hey again Ruben! I'm very fond of the siren idea in my own concepts- it's just creepy. Haha an interesting teaching method! I wouldn't worry too much about details at this point even though painting tentacle suckers are always fun. You can always improve upon a piece by painting it better but to take it to another level I'd focus on composition. I did a rough paintover. It's not pretty but I'm thinking of ways to clarify the initial read of the painting: 1. I really like the idea of the monster filling the water but it made sense for me to centralize the tentacles towards the siren. It gives us a nice flow and emphasizes the verticality of the piece. Another thing about tentacles is that they give us a lot of opportunity to make interesting negative shapes. (The more we pay attention to the quality of our shapes the stronger our compositions will be). 2. Rather than using the empty space at the bottom of the piece I put it directly under the sailor. This gives us room to put a few tentacles creeping just beneath him to create some tension for the viewer. Areas of rest are important but be mindful of where to place them. (Try to use every element of the composition to enhance the story/mood of your painting!) It could be a nice contrast to have the noise of turbulent seas above calm, slow moving tentacles in its depths. 3. I made the sky more gray and darker while keeping a few light shapes above, as if to say "there is little hope, and the sailor is moving further from it :)" The foreboding sky also allowed me to brighten the siren and bring more attention to her. (This all has to do with value structure- we can use it symbolically but more importantly it's what allows a painting to be seen clearly.) Also! Desaturating the sky will help you pop out key colors like the mermaid's hair- just another method of contrast. *One last note: I think if you focus mostly on painting the siren you can allow the the rest of the painting to be a little looser. It might even convey the movement of the ocean if you're mindful of it and start having fun with the mark making. Hope this helps! I also enjoy the first sheet of designs! (That's my favorite part of the process). If you have anymore questions feel free and have fun moving this piece along!

Thank you Ruben, much appreciated!

Haha! Love the comparison :)

Thank you Becky!

Thanks Jon! I appreciate it :)

Thanks Liandro!

Nice to meet you Teresa!

Hello- thank you!