February is here and with it The Month of Love, a weekly art challenge I'm a part of!

This year I will be creating art centered around my foxdragon character and exploring more the relationship between it and a little girl and more my fantastical environments. "The Book of Spells" was created for the challenge theme secrets. I loved the idea of these two friends meeting in a vast leafy jungle, hidden under layers of monstera plants.

"The Book of Spells" original is currently sold. Prints can be found on Redbubble.

“They cracked open the ancient tome & the Book of Spells sang forth their secrets from within.”

Creating "The Book of Spells" involved a unique and new process for me. A few weeks ago I purchased a LED light table. I've been wanting to save the sketches that I make for each of my paintings. My usual process involves erasing them away.

With the light table I'm now able to create a finished sketch, scan it into the computer and touch it up, darken the lines and print it back out again to then trace over with pen using the light table. It's an extra step but so far definitely worth it.

Below is my finished sketch and color comp from the scanned in line work.

I used a new watercolor paint for this piece, Daniel Smith's "Moonglow", which is a lovely three pigment blend of anthraquinoid red, ultramarine blue and viridian. When they separate they create these wonderful variations of color on the paper. I can't wait to use it in a larder wash and see what I can do with it in future paintings. In this piece I laid it in for many of the shadowed areas.