Harley & Ivy: Mad Love Part Deux

This is my first LGBT piece, so why not take advantage of one of DC's newest couples? These two have been linked together since they first encountered each other on Batman The Animated Series. From friends to lovers and apparently marriage, Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy seem to compliment each other in spite of being insanely different. With the composition I've chosen - an intimate moment under a red spotlight - an experimental approach was required. After heavily researching how both skin tones look under red light, I reserved the strong reds for the walls, pink tones for Harley's skin, light orange tones for her hair, lighter and dark reds for Ivy's hair, and finally darker greens for the skin. It was Ivy's skin that presented the most difficulty; some examples of plants look black or purple under red light. I finally decided to just go with dark greens, BUT provide some shine on certain curves via orange prismacolor crayon. Prismacolor was also applied to the dyed portions of Harley's pig tails. Given the red walls bereft of details was too much negative space, I decided to throw in Harley's powers. Since science has proven plants tend to grow under red light, and Ivy is definitely aroused in this intimate setting, it leaves both possibilities beautifully under the eye of the beholder. It was an opportunity for Ivy to express herself on her side of the heart-shaped light, just as Harley's side shows her whimsical, childlike side. I referenced a scene from the classic Bugs and Daffy cartoon with Elmer Fudd and created an animation cel. The vines on Ivy's side I'm particularly proud of; my grandmother's crawling vines on her house in my memory gave me the reference I needed. Having the rose vine crawling under the article and pulling it off of the wall provided that three-dimensional feel beyond elements of light and shadow. To show contrast, I cut the spotlight off just above the legs and accentuated the edges of the light with prismacolor that corresponded with the ladies' skin. The heart perfectly framed the couple in the center of the page, as did the darkness their legs vanished into. The suggested-but-subtle sensuality works just as strongly as a liplock or caress, so the body language scores in that respect. This piece, etched on 11 x 17" Canson is one of my most ambitious and I'm extremely proud of the results.