This came together quickly in the end, and I'm tremendously happy with the result. There was a little flying by the seat of my pants, and balancing the figures so they wouldn't all compete for center stage was a struggle, but that's what makes it fun. I learned more from solving problems than I ever do from relaxing in my comfort zone, so I always find it exciting when they picture presents me with these opportunities.
I got an e-mail from Jim when he received the JPEG, and he is quite excited about the image. That's the real part that lets me know the painting is successful.
The real secret to making this painting work is to think of it as two separate images while I'm painting but allow the composition to bring them both together. I want Batgirl to be playful, so I try to work very quickly and not obsess over the details. Her limited color palette is a big help on that front. I'm also going to keep the shadows on both characters the same color, purple to lavender, as a way of giving them the feeling of a unified environment.
I'm just getting things fired up on the girls. Starting off with Batgirl allows me to use her darks to set the pace for everything else. I'm setting up my darker values of lavender and purple with acrylic washes even though this is a watercolor painting. The violet range in a watercolor tends to be very fugitive, meaning they are subject to change due to light or successive painting, so I try to give them a little reinforcement for longevity.
