I have to get a lot of little saleable originals done before Anthrocon this summer, so naturally I was immediately seized with the desire to do a grandiose technical experiment, digitally, featuring an obscure creature practically nobody collects (axolotls are a salamander with exposed feathery gills, and yes, they'd die of dehydration about ten minutes after the painting, I know), that looks like part of a vast series (although it won't be), in sepia no less, (which generally doesn't sell for beans) as if my Muse sat down with a calculator and some scratch paper and carefully worked out the farthest possible thing from what I ought to be doing, then then stapled the result to my forehead.

*sigh*

Anyway! It was an experiment with megascribble, converted to and washed with sepia. In the letter A. This is not a promise to do the other 25 letters, I hasten to add. In fact, the odds of my doing the onther 25 are vanishingly small, and not just because X would leave me stumped, but also because I'd crack under the strain and we'd have a Parade of Pangolins Purchasing Porn or a Hedonistic Hippo Hitting Hashish from His Hookah. I'd probably be fine with that, mind you, I just know that I will never do it. Please don't ask me when the rest are coming. It is not a series. It is nothing like a series. If I thought for one minute it was a series, there would never be another painting. I'm hardwired weird that way.

As for the experiment, my feelings are mixed--I do like sepia, even if it doesn't sell well, and the color wash does alleviate some of the problems with the technique in black and white, where it tends to get overly busy. Doing it in color, however, tends not to work at all--I'd need to leave a great deal more white than I do--but the sepia's a nice compromise. Still, not sure. I suspect this is one those things that may hammer around my brain for awhile, before finally clicking into what it needs to do (or not.) And I have the linework saved out seperately so that if something snaps into place, I can always re-do it.

Prints available, both in 8.5 x 11 and 13 x 19 size--not sure if I'll do an LE or not, since I dunno if this will be the final product. Depend on whether anybody wants it, I suppose! Anyway, send a note, happy to set that up!