Witch Challenge: Couple

When you return from a vacation or any kind of extended break from your regular routine, it can be difficult to get back into the swing of things. So while this challenge was not difficult in the same ways as other challenges have been -- coming up with a concept -- it was difficult to execute. I just couldn’t get into the zone this week. I suppose that is one downside to these challenges. Following a schedule and adhering to a deadline means that sometimes I have to work when I am not at my creative best. 

Plus, it was bloody hot this week. The studio is the hottest room in my home as it faces south, and that makes it pretty uncomfortable to work.

Despite all the obstacles this week, I pushed through and create something wonderful for you yet again!

This week’s prompt was to create a Witchy Couple and when I first put this list together, I thought I would make a straight couple but as I sat down to brainstorm, I kind of fell in love with the idea of a queer couple.

I imagined a couple posing for a photograph, maybe a wedding or engagement shoot. There were actually four sketches made this week, more than any challenge previously. The first two just did not look quite right. Something about the angles or proportions was off with both of them. Starting over with two new poses, both sketches came out well, so yet again I faced deciding which to follow through with.

In past weeks, I simply would have taken on the task of doing them both, but I could feel that I was not in my groove and doing too much would not work well.

Instead, I took to Instagram to get the input of my lovely community. In a This or That poll, the above concept won 62% of votes!

Off I went into my hot hot studio.

The one thing I am thankful for is that I could rely on the style and techniques I developed in the Tea Witch Challenge. That may be the only way I got through this week without crashing and burning. 

Somewhere along the way, though, the face of the Witch on the right became a little...off. There is just something not quite right. Luckily, it is not so bad, really.

Next up was choosing a color pallet. This piece would be a little more difficult because I needed to distinguish between the two Witches’ clothes.

There are certainly a set of colors that I gravitate towards more than others. Purple is one of those colors.

It would me interest to lay out all of my pieces and organize them by color. Yeah, I’m one of those weirdoes who groups my skittles together by color and save my favorite “flavors” for last.

I chose a turquoise color to compliment the purple and when I mixed it with black to make a darker shade, it turned very very green. At first I was extremely hesitant about the color pallet, especially sense I was not getting the sense of depth that I crave in my work. 

There were several hours spent staring at this stage of my work, trying to figure out what was wrong and how I could fix it.

Finally, I thought to myself, "maybe there is nothing wrong and I should just add the finishing touches." So that's what I did, cleaning up the outline and adding the white halo to certain areas. 

Yet it still felt off. 

I was not happy with it. And I hate when I am not happy with a new piece.

So I stared some more. I asked my friends for input about what it could be missing. I took a break and did my nails. Lol. 

In the end, I came up with a list of things I did not like about the painting. 

• The white button on the pants. I don't know why I chose white, but it looked out of place.
• Her shirt needed some buttons, for sure.
• It was still missing a sense of depth.
• They were wanting for some more details, I just didn’t know what.

I fixed the pants button by adding some shading to it, making it more of a light grey color. Adding the buttons to her shirt was simple and definitely helped the piece along a lot. I gave them both some jewelry: two necklaces for the Witch in the purple dress and a bunch of rings for the one in the green shirt. Prutting a pattern on the cuffs and collar of her shirt brought it closer to a feeling of completion.

But there was still a lack of depth that was bothering me.

I compared this piece to the Tea Witch. Side by side, the Witch Couple was much lighter in contrast to the Tea Witch and I decided that is where the lack of depth was coming from.

Painting over the green shirt with a layer of semi-transparent black for what must have been the third time actually achieved the desired contrast I felt this piece was missing. Can you see the difference between the two?