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Description
This painting is really bittersweet for me, so I've been hesitant to post it. I decided to do so because while I'm unhappy with the final image, I feel it's important to share both successes and failures as an artist. And for me, failure doesn't hit much harder than this one did.

Being invited to do a workshop for the February 2015 issue of ImagineFX magazine was a huge deal for me, and I still like the concept for this image. It's deeply rooted in the kind of imaginative adventures that still inspire me as an artist. Unfortunately, my surgery to remove a small tumor from my right shoulder was moved up in the middle of this assignment. I ended up doing most of the painting with my off hand, cutting a lot of things I really wanted to include to sell the story, and taking a LOT of shortcuts (such as mirroring the reflection instead of painting it properly).

But in the end... it's a step in the right direction, and I have to remind myself of that. It helped me figure out a lot of things that needed to change in my working process, and taught me that sometimes you have to just suck it up and get shit done even if it isn't going the way you hoped. I can never thank the IFX crew enough for being so monumentally patient with me while I fumbled my way through this.

Thankfully, I've roped my mentor into helping me re-do this idea sometime this year with the amount of time and attention I wish I could have given it the first time around.

Description
This painting is really bittersweet for me, so I've been hesitant to post it. I decided to do so because while I'm unhappy with the final image, I feel it's important to share both successes and failures as an artist. And for me, failure doesn't hit much harder than this one did.

Being invited to do a workshop for the February 2015 issue of ImagineFX magazine was a huge deal for me, and I still like the concept for this image. It's deeply rooted in the kind of imaginative adventures that still inspire me as an artist. Unfortunately, my surgery to remove a small tumor from my right shoulder was moved up in the middle of this assignment. I ended up doing most of the painting with my off hand, cutting a lot of things I really wanted to include to sell the story, and taking a LOT of shortcuts (such as mirroring the reflection instead of painting it properly).

But in the end... it's a step in the right direction, and I have to remind myself of that. It helped me figure out a lot of things that needed to change in my working process, and taught me that sometimes you have to just suck it up and get shit done even if it isn't going the way you hoped. I can never thank the IFX crew enough for being so monumentally patient with me while I fumbled my way through this.

Thankfully, I've roped my mentor into helping me re-do this idea sometime this year with the amount of time and attention I wish I could have given it the first time around.