No Such Thing as Minotaur!

Exploring the Minoan Maze.

I made a sketch for this piece a few months ago.  I even had a version started where I used a black brush pen to outline everything.  But before I colored that version, I thought that piece was too static, and I wanted something with more depth.

Original Sketch.

A version with Black Outlines.

Upon coming up with a softer execution, I ran into another problem – light.  I wanted to depict the children in a dark maze, but I had a hard time figuring out how to make it work without making the piece too "muddy".

One of the books I read talked about warm primaries vs. cool primaries.  Warm primaries (Cadmium Red, Cadmium Yellow, Ultramarine blue) mixes produce a warmer gray.  Cool primaries (Alizarin Crimson, Lemon Yellow, Prussian Blue) mixes produce a cooler gray.  I used the later for the background.

For those who are interested, the book I read about this is by George James.  The name is "Watercolor Painting –– Expert Answers to the Questions Every Artist Asks".