Adding Texture and Interest to a Painting

The top painting is the after and the bottom one, the before. I was originally happy with the first draft of this painting and entered it a couple of shows with disappointing results. I took a hard look at the painting and realized that the starfish was lacking a personality and texture. It was very flat and just didn't match the rest of the painting. I went for my go to fix, my gel pens. I shaded the edges of the arms with a glaze pen and then did hundreds of circles in a few different pens and colours then to finish it, a liquid white pen by Graffik. It's very difficult to find a white pen that is bold enough and doesn't dry out. To ensure the pens would work on the acrylic and medium, I coated it with a clear gesso to give it some tooth. I hope you like the new result.