Title is very real.

Lovely work. I'd say that struggle does come out in the art, but (for whatever it is worth) for the better. I initially got something like a real melancholic weight from it, and I think that fits the hesitant vulnerability well.

Thank you very much! While painting this, I kept thinking about the previous painting I made. That one was all about confidence. It got a unique aura of sexual tension to it. This one originally was meant to contrast how a sense of vulnerability affects the sensation of intimacy. But like you said, it got overwhelmed by a melancholic weight. I don't think anyone would naturally relate it to the other piece now. But still think it still presents something worthwhile.

I actually like them taken together. Both use the cloth in an similar way, which connects them with a clear visual theme. However, the stark difference in body language makes one feel like the character's outward expression (maybe the first one with the red cloth) while the other represents their interior feelings (this one).

Uh, but that's definitely me projecting and not necessarily what you were going for. Still, that reading works for me.

That is a valid interpretation though! I really enjoy reading your thoughts on this. Thank you for sharing! I definitely forgot how the use of cloth ties the two together.

I don't know if I've ever mentioned this or not but I've got a striped hyena character. I may have to commission you to draw a character sheet of her and one of her in her work "uniform". That is, if you're up to doing those for me.

Unfortunately I don't do refsheets for characters

Okay. That's fine. I appreciate your response. I had to ask because it's hard to find an artist who draws striped hyenas as well as you do. However, would you consider doing a drawing of her. If so, how much would you charge for the commission? Mrs. Impisi is a striped hyena like the lovely lady in the drawing above with a few minor differences.

I've been meaning to reply to this, but kept delaying, because I never got around to writing down my commission prices. So I decided to give at least some answer. I put a rough timing for each painting in the description of each painting in my gallery here, which should give a general sense of the price of a commission. I don't do well with the conventional furry categories, because I've done portraits ranging from 2 hours to 13 hours in work load, depending on style and complexity. With a range like that in project size, I've just never found an easily understood pricing scheme. I'll spend some more time on that problem and hopefully I'll have a sensible commission pricing before too long.

Thanks. I'm kind of on a fixed budget so anything over about 2 to 3 hours would probably be out of my price range depending on your hourly rate. However, I will let you know that what I envision would be my striped hyena lady wearing a business suit or possibly a two-piece swimsuit in a full-body drawing (kind of like what's shown above). So, I'll happily wait until you decide how you want to charge for your commissions. Thanks for taking the time to let me know.

I'm glad you managed to finish this, what a beautiful piece!
Sucks how the sickness impacted it all, but I do love the energy of this piece, can really feel it

I'm glad too. It's definitely interesting how those things work out. Like the hand on the stairs for example. I didn't really plan it out, but the tension in the fingers like that just made sense at the moment.