"The Nautilus" triptych is complete!

The triptych that I've been working on for the past few months is FINALLY done! I've titled it "The Nautilus." I know I slacked by not posting any in-progress pictures, but I'll try to make up for it here, by posting the pictures I took of the painting in stages.

                                 Pen and ink study for the piece.

           Pencil sketch on three canvases. Each canvas is 20" x 48".

           Starting to color the piece with light acrylic washes, and define some shapes in the tree and rocks.

Added details to the shell design, more layering of colors in the water and sky. I'd added come gold flake to the grass in the foreground, and started layering some incandescent medium in with blue washes over the water. I moved the pieces apart so that I could continue details on the sides and bottom of the panels to tie them together, as they will be hung a bit apart.

I really got into doing more cloudwork in the sky, and settled on a fiery atmosphere. Added some more greenery to the tree, and consulted with my patron about the work. It was about 90% complete, so just wanted to get their opinion on some finishing touches.

And the finished piece! This was definitely the most ambitious painting I've done so far, incorporating new techniques, lots of color, and a total size around 3' x 4'. The total time I worked on it was around 4 months, but I worked pretty slowly mainly during weekends. Had lots of fun, and learned a lot while working on this piece. Hope you enjoy!

-Joe