Yuki Onna

I had this idea from a prompt from an upcoming winter show.

Yuki-onna, or “snow woman” is a spirit (or yokai) in Japanese folklore. Sometimes good, sometimes bad. You got Google if you want to look all that up. I had already read all the stories and just wanted something wintery. Plus I like the art of the kimono and enjoy drawing them.

Here is the first washes of color after peciling in the composition. I had stenciled in some frisket film over the figure. I showed it to a few prople and someone mentioned that it had a very William Blake feel. I kinda liked that and wondered if I should go down that route.

I had other plans. The sun and purples gave off a warmer feel than I wanted for this piece. Plus I wanted a stormier look. So I started fleshing out the hills and clouds with some Paynes Grey and white. Adding in some blues to get a little colder. At this point I was muddying up the colors with some overworking and I felt like I was getting into a more monochromatic look.

I wanted the figure to be more monochromatic not the background (she is a ghost after all) so I reintroduced some purples and more blue. Correcting the clouds I wasn’t happy with along the way. And hammering those hills and rocks into better positions.

I do not like to sit at a table or a desk when I work. Nor an easel. I like a portable board. And pretty much work anywhere. I should probably get a few more of these boards.

At some point you gotta cut yourself off. Do your work to the best of your ability in the allotted time. I did not want to spend too much time so when the background felt right the frisket film came off to move onto the next part.