Sea turtle in pastels

The hubs asked, "is that a leatherback?" I said "err... It's a turtle" 😂 

This was a really fun piece. I've never done an underwater painting (underwater subject I mean, not me underwater 😂) but I do love the ethereal look of sea turtles so I thought I'd give it a go. I decided to use Velour paper, which I've only used for furry animals but in the end, I'm glad I did because it gives such a soft effect. And unlike UArt, it grips pastels very well so it won't smear.

I started with a half-hearted layer of PanPastels but didn't really cover the paper with it because it appeared blotchy. 

Unlike most other animal paintings where I do the background first, I decided to leave the water to the last because it surrounded the turtle and I wouldn't have been able to then paint the turtle without smudging the painting.

After I'd done the shell, I stepped back and felt like it was too flat, so I took a risk and added some fluorescent orange with my Jackson's pastel stick. It's quite cool - when the lights are off, the orange streaks glow in the dark 😆 I have such a gaudy heart.

After I added the flipper and the head, I realised that I REALLY like this painting. It was one of those rare paintings where barely any hiccups happen. Incidentally, I used the Terry Ludwig Ultra Violets set for the purple accents and shadows and they are absolutely wonderful. It's so hard to get deep dark purples which are vibrant at the same time - these are it.

The original reference photo didn't have fish but I added them because I thought it would make the picture more interesting. I think it was another good call, it implied movement to the water. And finally, I finished up with the water, which was basically four sticks of blue-green shades and then blending. Love love love blending on Velour paper.