The Legend Of The Twins by Ross Smirnoff

This painting was made in a small notebook of Fabriano paper.  This is my second sketchbook from Fabriano and I must say that I love painting on this paper.  The paper holds up really well with large volumes of water that I use through various stages of layering.  What encourages me about this painting is that I could have just left it in it's original carnation and would have been satisfied with the result.  But the more I pondered about it I realized that I needed to delve within those forms with color and what resulted was the painting depicted below.  I call this painting "The Legend Of The Twins," because I was listening to the audiobook of Anne Rice's Queen of The Damned on youtube while working on this piece. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UvW3-d32MFA&list=PL69A4E99E9F62F90D

The process of this painting style is one that comes very naturally to me and suits my creative process.  I start by drawing with pencil, which is the most direct form of creation. After completing the original drawing I put a layer of Sumi Ink on top of the drawing.  Then I pad the wet paper, either against the oppossite page in the sketchbook or with a paper towel.  I find that the ink takes over the pencil marks, making it look as if it was drawn by pen.  This also creates an interesting effect on the back of the painting which is interesting to look at as you flip through the sketchbook. After completing the under-painting I decided to add color.  I was contemplating using color pencil but opted to paint with watercolor and gouache.  The result is seen in the bottom picture, which is close to completion. I like the black figure on the left, and decided to leave it barely highlighted.

Well, onto the next one.