For the background, I chose a photo of the Grampian mountains in Aberdeenshire, with a view that, on a clear day, allows you to see as far as out to sea. I thank Yiling Wang, my friend on that particular roadtrip, for her help in taking that photo. From it I used the background colours and the general proportions of the lady, but not the lady herself. She is from my imagination only.
I especially liked painting the dress, and the lower part thereof. I am not entirely happy with the area around her bust, but I had been working on it for too long, and decided I needed to let it be and work on something else. The hair, also, was a joy to paint. I have never tried making hair quite as detailed with oils.
In conclusion, I am happy with the painting and I think it shows that I have progressed in my painting, when I compare it to other paintings. There is still a long way to go to make it as photorealistic as I would like it, but that is what practice is for. I am, however, not entirely happy with the picture you see here - I had to opt for a somewhat reddish-grey tint to the originally white sky, in order for the photo to better reflect the true colour of the dress and the stone wall. I suppose I shall learn how to fix that in Photoshop, but for now, it is not too important.
The painting is called "Grampian Sidhe", after the mountain itself, and after the Gaelic word for Fair Folk (please note that this is what she is - not a fairy, the diminutive), or elf.
What do you like the best with the painting? What do you think could have been done even better?
