Or...

...if you're feeling sufficiently motivated to make art anyway, you can give up your after-dinner television and also stay up a little late!

This gal was kind of a surprise. I actually came into the studio planning a redo of a picture with which I was unhappy, but I was inspired by one of the other students on Deb Weiers's site who used this killer combination of scarlet and turquoise Daler Rowney inks in beautiful combination, and made me want to do something with it too.

I found a reference, and did a little more controlled piece, in which I drew first and painted after instead of letting the ink have its way with the background. But I did add a lot of texture and some splatter, and had some fun with layering colors (like the light brown I layered on the book cover under the scarlet to make it stand out from the rest.

I particularly admire the way many people have imaginatively made the eyes on their characters markedly different one from another, and although I wasn't overly brave (comparatively speaking), these two were focused in different directions, which led directly to the title for the book she's reading. (It is an actual title, which I discovered when I looked it up after on Goodreads, so I put the author's last name on the spine as a courtesy.) The only regret I have with this one is that the book obscures half her face, so I couldn't add some luscious scarlet lips. I'll have to do another with this color combo.

This will make a nice addition to my reading series. Pencil, Daler Rowney acrylic inks, white and black gesso, Uniball pen and gel pen, on Strathmore 140-lb. watercolor paper, approx. 7x10 inches.