Well, here they are; my new Medusa masks.  

First, the Diamondback Rattlesnake version that was giving me such a headache.

I was saying to someone in my comments last time (PZB I think) that I am repeatedly seduced by complicated neutral patterns in nature & it's a source of frustration for me, always.  I keep attempting to capture something like the pattern of spangled frittilary butterflies or brown trout or, in this case, Eastern Diamondbacks...& I never quite get it perfect.  Only nature can do that, I suppose.  I came as close as I've ever come this time, anyway.

The browns of this mask are "cool", and I only had enough turquoise beads for one mask (I was ONE freaking bead short) so that's what I used for the snakes' eyes in this one.

I love the tiny patterned heads.  Diamondbacks have these awesome banded faces that make them look so wicked.  I even added rattles to the tips of the tails (they end in the outer corners of the eyes).  Details, people!  Details.

So after experiencing the self-inflicted torture of the Diamondback pattern, I wanted something that was still striking (no pun intended dammit) but less complicated.  The Northern Copperhead was my second choice (another really dangerous snake...utterly unintentional by the way, I was just looking for pretty brown patterns).

This snake is a much warmer brown tone.  Coppery, you might say.  I used carnelian beads for the eyes.  I have to say it looked AWESOME with the turquoise, but of the two I think the diamondback needed them more.  I'm definitely going to be trying this one with turquoise next time, though.

I hate to say it, but between the two I think I like this one better.  That could be due to the fact that it was half as time-consuming to paint as the Diamondback was.  I love the rich browns too...Greg says this mask looks chocolaty (he calls it "Chocolate Cleopatra", by the way.  Because he's funny like that.).

With my hair color this one looks great on me, too.  "Become stone!!"

So yeah, that was my project & I finished it in half a week.  Not too shabby!  They're definitely going to be in my Etsy shop (I'll pace myself & do one today & one tomorrow) & I probably won't be selling them right away (or at all) 'cause of the price.  Still, it'll be a fair price (it's my wholesale price, actually, for the Medusa masks I'm making for Rumors)...so I suppose if anyone really likes them they might think of them as a bargain.  *shrug*

Speaking of my Etsy shop...a note for all of you who are LJ friends.  If you order something from my Etsy shop, be sure to drop me a private e-mail (the link is on the Etsy site) and I'll add a really cool extra "gift" to your order...for free!  I don't mean to be a whore, but I DO want to boost my sales count & I know there are some of you who like my stuff.  :-)  Anyway, it's an added incentive & you'd be helping out a friend.  


*smooch*


From: [identity profile] charismitaine.livejournal.com


They're beautiful! I really love them both--they're just remarkable and striking and awesome. I don't have the 'nyargh snakes ah!' reaction that some people do--I mean, I do if there's a real snake, but I think these have a lovely balance between incredible realism and being a little stylized and definitely elegant.

About your Etsy shop--do you have an idea of how long orders would take to process and such? Because there are a couple of people on my Christmas list who would really love the koi barrettes (and, gosh, I'll probably end up getting one for myself), and I'm wondering how urgent it is to order quickly (and when not to order, if you have shows or cons or suchlike to be getting ready for in between).

From: [identity profile] charismitaine.livejournal.com


Also, whatever you used as a background for the pictures is lovely.

From: [identity profile] merimask.livejournal.com


Thank you! :-) I try to bring realism into my fantasy art at one level or another & I think these masks are a good example of that. Also, I get a kick out of doing the research (I'm a closet zoologist).

Everything on my Etsy site is an actual picture of the actual piece I'll be mailing (I decided it'd just be better that way). As soon as it's ordered, it gets shipped so everything gets to the buyer within three days of the payment coming through. Thing is, unless I list a quantity, once it sells then it's gone (but I have many different koi so I'll put more up when I sell the ones that are there).

Don't forget the shipping is the same if you order 1 or 10 things (everything after the first item gets shipped for free, basically).
.

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