"The Thieves" - Finished painting!

Hi everyone, 

Here's the finished version of "The Thieves"!

Even though this piece made use of some colours I am very unfamiliar with, I thoroughly enjoyed painting it, and I am rather happy with the result. 

I had initially started out with a very dark background (guess what colour I uuussseeedd XD), because I was scared of starting the painting process, and painting the background usually helps me get motivated.
However, after painting the character, something really didn't feel right, and I was lost as to my next step, so I decided to reverse everything, and use a light background instead. It was a scary move, as I am not used to light backgrounds at all, but I like how this worked out in the end, as I have always liked the look given by painting over a dark colour with a lighter one. It gives the background more texture than if it was a plain, pure pastel pink. In my opinion. 

Another element that made this piece come together for me, was adding an outline to most of the elements. I am definitely finding my love for outlines again, and I suspect you'll see more of those going forward. 

I was hesitant with the title for a while, going back and forth being something along the idea of hiding, theft and nectar, but I have more ideas that can fit hiding and nectar, and I wanted the birds to be featured in the concept title, so I went with The Thieves.

For me, this piece talks about the harm that can be caused by well-meaning, well-intentioned people who forget to listen and look at us, and pick at who we are thinking they are helping when in reality, if they really asked how they can help, they would realise they are doing more harm than good. Or it can also be about those who think they are helping, but are in reality motivated by selfish and egotistical reasons.
It's also about hiding behind a perfect idea of ourselves, the fantasy self we want the world to see us as, and being afraid of who we really are, flaws and all. When in reality, that true self has often more to offer the world than our fantasy self every will, because one is real and the other is not...

I will be making a process video of this piece, so I'll explain all my steps in details, and you'll be able to see how I changed things around and why. 

In the meantime, here is the finished piece, I hope you like it!

Now onto the next one...:)