Crowdsource an Octopus Painting

Recently, I've been painting sea creatures. Two of these paintings have been in art shows and sold (the lionfish and sea turtle). However, the most recent one  of an octopus is not working out. The colors are too garish and the octopus a bit cartoonish:

Not So Great Octopus Art © 2012 Sylvia Liu

So I would like your help. What direction should I take this piece? Here are the options:



A. Octopus Magritte Art: My daughter would like me to paint a bowler hat on it and apple in front of its face, a la Magritte (pardon the sloppy Photoshopping; this is just to give an idea of what it might look like. I would paint over the existing octopus):

The Son of Octopus © 2012 Sylvia Liu

B. Octopus on Old Out of Copyright Material: I've always enjoyed illustrations painted on old maps or book pages. So I was thinking a collage of sorts like this (this page scanned from a series of illustrated children's books dated 1912 that I bought at the recent used book sale I worked on):

 Sepia Sinbad Octopus © 2012 Sylvia Liu

C. Octopus Warhol Style: Or I could go with a pop art sensibility:

Warhol Octopus ©2012 Sylvia Liu

Warhol Octopus II © 2012 Sylvia Liu

Let me know which one you prefer...


If you liked this post, you may also enjoy:

• Illustration Friday: Obsession (With Maps)
• Encaustic Painting Workshop (Octopus Art Part 2)