Blending In - Framed

Every time I see a picture of an octopus, I get the urge to paint or draw one.  But they are kind of tricky - firstly because it really is hard to keep track of and depict all eight legs in an appealing way.  And secondly, because truthfully, they can be a little ugly.

I'll be honest, this was my second attempt at a colored pencil octopus. The first was more vibrantly colored, lots more pinks, a less pleasing composition and was more of an experiment.  It was great learning and for this second version, I proceeded to simplify both the colors and the layout and also used the value scale more.

In the end I love how it turned out.  I kept the pinks but much more of a high and lowlight to the luscious blues and greens of the main body. 

Original Artwork

The original has been juried into the 2026 WA State Fair Fine Art Show in Puyallup WA and will be on display framed at the WA State Fairgrounds September 4th - 27th.  

It was available for sale, framed to 16" x 20" via the WA State Fair and is now SOLD.

Other works in the 2026 WA State Fair: Majestic, In the Infinite Flow, Golden.

Colored oil-based pencil on 12" x 16" Arches 140lb 100% cotton hot press paper. Signed by the artist.

Fine Art prints of this piece are coming soon.