"Pastel Siren" by Lisa Coleman

Ooo! Pretty...

sounds like the kind of mishaps I have! pastels? Oil pastels?....like crayon-looking things right? I have some, and I have used them to color backgrounds.....usually for things I do with those acrylic gel-pens(Kirk secretly loves those). I have no clue how to use the pstels for subjects though...they are so big and mushy----but I like the way you did light and dark on her(highlight and shadow)....did you use a white crayon for highlights----or is that just lighter pressure with the blue pastel?.....also did you do the background first?, I mean can you do a pastel subject over a pastel background without getting too much bleed tghrough? Sorry about all the "technical" stuff.......but pastels are almost as mysterious to me, as sirens are? Is this siren a siren from your stories?

Lisa Coleman replies: "I did this with pastel pencils, which are just like colored pencils, but with pastels, they're really great, all the fun without the mess! This was just a random doodle to experiment, but she could develop her own character. i drew it on white paper, which shows through as teh highlights. first, I drew the figure, then darkened the background around it. And don't worry about the technical stuff, those are the good comments, that help us learn from eachother."

I really like how u did this one because i like the color blue and it fits for a mermaid so good job with that and i like how u don't really have a backround nor alot of details i think thats really neat how old r u anyways ur drawings r good!

Lisa Coleman replies: "Thanks. How old I am? huh? I'm not that old!"

sirens arent mermaids they were creatures who enchanted men and led them to there watery grave but its really pretty though love her fin and shading and the shineyness on her fin very nice LOL

Lisa Coleman replies: "I was wondering when I'd finally get the "that's not a siren!" thing, since every siren on Elfwood gets it at some point. I'd suggest you read "Sirens: Symbols of Seduction" by Meri Lao. It's the best book I've found on the topic and covers the wide variety of forms the siren has taken over the centuries. And as this creature inhabits MY subconscious. I'll call her a centaur if I want to."

Yay a drawing which hasnt (yet) been edited in photoshop *dances*. I like it i like it. It looks really dynamic as though shes actually moving.

Lisa Coleman replies: "Yes, I do like PhotoShop, don't I? It helps me be more spontaneous with my work, since results are immediate and can be quite random. In a lot of my drawings it is only used to change the contrast of a pencil drawing. With this one, I actually tried to use it to get the colors back to their original state, since scanning had messed it up, but I eventually gave up on that."

Mmm, the lines are so wonderfully long and clean! That's a gorgeous pose, too. *_*

I love the way your art is kind of sketchy, yet perfect. It really adds atmosphere and motion to this piece, and you've couloured it so wonderfully! I really like that smooth, flowing pose aswell. I hope one day that i become as confident and talented as you are!

*lol* spraying adhesive instead of fixative sounds like something I would do ... that's hilarious ...

This is the best work I've seen in your gallery so far, you have her form down perfect and she has a lovely sense of movement and grace as well as perfect colouring. You should draw more mermaids, I think you've got a special touch with them or something ... and pastals are gooood.

That is so beautiful!I hope ur 1 of my fans!Cuz u r now!

It's really neat. I like the colors.

Umm... Do you have a cat? Because there's a cat print on the white space next to the siren's head. Heh Heh. It's cool.

Lisa Coleman replies: "Wow. I never noticed that. Thanks. I don't know, I might have had a cat around then. Or, it might just be a coincidence, they way the pastel smeared. I'm kind of creeped out now. At least it's not the Virgin Mary."