Twas the Lady Fair, The Lady of Shalott

Picture was inspired by my favorite Tennyson poem, "The Lady of Shalott," and the song of the same name & lyrics sung by Loreena McKennitt.  I've been reading too much Anne of Green Gables (Lucy Montgomery works) this month.  I colored the Lady of Shalott with Anne Shirley's coloring based on the Montgomery novels.  Hence, The Lady of Shalott has grey-green eyes and red-hair.

I drew the initial sketch out in pencil on 200lb Smooth-Press Bristol Board (white), scanned into my PC, colored in Photoshop CS5, and final effects added with the same digital program.  This is just a quick picture, as the whole thing only took me 3 hours total to complete.  (Portraits are my specialty, but I tire of them because I have been drawing them for over 25 years professionally --> This is why I stick to new conceptual art and contemporary pieces now, because they require more thought process and spatial reasoning.)

Still, when the moment strikes me, I will turn out a realistic portrait every now and then.  Surprise!