I developed my contextural painting style to create colors and textures that were not possible with my ink drawings. I was happy with my first few paintings, but I had not yet tried to paint any of the creatures from my earlier ink drawings. Now that I had successfully developed the core contextural techniques, it seemed like the perfect time to try.
I searched the creatures I had drawn over the years and decided on the one below. The black ink didn't do this creature justice. It definitely needed more color and texture.
I had always considered this creature to be female, but I needed a more detailed persona for her. After studying her for some time, I realized that she was wearing a swimsuit, and the setting for the painting should be a beautiful ocean beach with palm trees.
I decided to use a large 3 ft. wide by 4 ft. high canvas so that I would have plenty of room for all of the intricate details of the beach, the ocean, the palm trees and of course for the creature herself, even though I knew it would take months to complete.
I imagined that she has golden blond hair. Her time in the bright sunshine has given her skin a rosy glow that is reflected in her super-cool sunglasses. Her nose is upturned, and she has elf-like ears.
Her swimsuit is a rainbow of colors mimicking her bubbly personality.
Her muscular arms are held high,
as she prances across the sand on her athletic legs.
Palm trees and clouds are set against the bright blue sky.
The tranquil aqua-green water laps onto the beach along with shadows from the palm trees and the creature herself.
The painting was finally finished after many months of painstaking work. It was exciting to see the colors and textures bring my creature to life in paradise. In my eyes, she was quite simply the ultimate Baywatch Babe ;-)!
This was the first contextural painting starring one of my creatures, but certainly not the last!