Watercolor Mermaid

I realized I should paint a mermaid! I always like painting sea life for the colors that I could use, but also love painting ethereal women. Took me a while to figure out I should combine the two into a mermaid... duh

watercolor on illustration board

©Samantha Nagel (DO NOT USE MY ARTWORK!!!!!!) Please read my policies at my website: http://www.samnagelart.com/image-use--faq.html

Water Nymph

A new watercolor in my female series. Above you can see the painting process. I usually paint in 3-4 layers, with the linework being last. Watercolor on illustration board. Prints of this piece are available in my Etsy store.

Artwork ©Samantha Nagel (not for use or altering in any way)

Art Nouveau Women

These are two new watercolor paintings with an Art Nouveau theme. I really love Alfonse Mucha's work and always wanted to paint some flower haired ladies of my own. These two are available as prints at my Etsy store.

©Sam Nagel (artwork not for use or altering in any way)

Koi Lady, second session

Still more progress shots. Just to let everyone know, this painting is on a 24x36" canvas, one of my biggest figurative works so far. I have already gone passed what is photographed here and finished defining all of her hair. I'm really diggin the art nouveau hair and plan to incorporate some Mucha inspired style. I am still thinking about a title.... perhaps "Don't Be Coy" ?

Still in progress... now on canvas

I tweaked the drawing, adding some more interesting elements to the piece, then brought the drawing onto canvas. So far I've painted an hour session and will allow the oils to dry up a little before I continue onto the next step....

Something New: Pin-up

I've been working out some new sketches for a painting. I'm sketching in photoshop with my tablet, but I'm going to end up doing the painting in oils. The bottom image is basically putting my idea onto paper, then I got real reference to work from and produced the second image at the top... what a difference. The next thing I want to do is add some kind of motif to the painting... just gotta figure out what that will be... something in her hair, it's all about her hair (and less about the boobs) ;)

Beautiful in Red

©Sam Nagel

I can't help but go for red whenever I paint hair, it just happens. I did try to tone it down to a more natural hair color, as you can see in my screen shot. But alas red prevailed, it was the original colors anyway. I really enjoy the warm tones and the bright yellow birds... birds and hair is another thing I always want to paint... birds in hair, what's up with that?... in reality would freak people out, but in art it's pretty :]

Aaron's Girls

the latest commission... I combined my beach painting style with my portraiture painting. It's probably one of the largest paintings I've done so far... 20x36" (I don't normally paint very big)

oil on canvas 20x36"

©Sam Nagel

available for commissions, email me at: sam_sgn@hotmail.com

Take Root and Grow

So I think my idea for the color involved more green and teals... but somehow deep royal purple made it in there instead and I made the executive decision to go with it. I really dig it along with the red, those are two colors I rarely like together, but right now red and purple get along (the yellow tones help that relationship). I also scrapped the fallopian tubes... my hurting body said that particular detail was unnecessary. Right now sitting at my computer is painful on my back and arms, and of course I'm right-handed, and so my luck it's my right arm. Right now I'm sitting on a really big yoga ball instead of my computer chair... it gets tiring but helps. Maybe the next card I pick out will have something more to do with radical healing or enlightening, change your brain change your body... I don't think that's in this deck (so I may sneak it in, lol).

To read the meaning behind this card go to the facebook page Intimacy Without Responsibility -The Conscious Evolution of Love . 'Like' the page to stay updated and see more cards w/ meanings, until the deck is complete and ready for sale.

tools: photoshop cs4, intuos 3

for Wendyne Limber's "Intimacy Without Responsibility" card deck

© Sam Nagel (not for use or altering in any way)

Self Deception

I brought back the color palette I normally use when painting with oils for the skin, fleshy tones with cool grey blue, and pops of salmon pink... and my painting technique with a square brush, ahh I love my square brush. <3 I also played with the lense flare... hope that's not a no no... but heh whatevs


To read the meaning behind this card go to the facebook page Intimacy Without Responsibility -The Conscious Evolution of Love . 'Like' the page to stay updated and see more cards w/ meanings, until the deck is complete and ready for sale.

tools: photoshop cs4, intuos 3

for Wendy Limber's "Intimacy Without Responsibility" card deck

© Sam Nagel. not for use or altering in any way. thanks!

The time we spend together

I absolutely love this one. It's my new favorite, and finally feel like I have a grip on photoshop painting and in a style that I like. I think I achieved one of the most harmonious color schemes I've done so far, and it still has somewhat of a traditional look... and best part: it was not difficult. yay!

To read the meaning behind this card go to the facebook page Intimacy Without Responsibility -The Conscious Evolution of Love . 'Like' the page to stay updated and see more cards w/ meanings, until the deck is complete and ready for sale.

tools: photoshop cs4, intuos 3

for Wendy Limber's "Intimacy Without Responsibility" card deck

© Sam Nagel. not for use or altering in any way. thanks!

Screen Shot: New WIP

---- New work in progress, in my Photoshop work space... Look at that messiness! This is generally how I start out the color process. One deviation from the norm is that I have not established the final line-work on the dreamcatcher and strings... I'm trying to figure out the glow/lighting and how that creates or hides line and where that might be?? The line-work for that part is going to be white or near white. But, who knows, it could be completely different by the time I finish. Right now I'm pretty happy with it. :)

From the Heart ...progress

Alright, so I'm kind of liking the progress shots... I usually don't capture my process, or save it like this, but I think it makes for something interesting on the blog. If you look at my sketchbook post below you'll see the original pencil sketch. The softness in her face got lost in the final linework; I'm totally bringing that back... Color is next, I actually have a thought out color scheme this time, wow!