This Sphalerite, more than any of my other specimens I think, benefits immensely from being lit well and magnified. It has so much detail and crazy iridescence that is difficult to see with the naked eye because it is so tiny and dark. Under the greasy iridescent metallic coating it is actually a dark transparent rusty red stone. Without the light hitting it in the right way, it just looks black. I think it's going to be fun (and a big challenge) to paint.
On a side note, it is so hard to take photos in my house in the evening. It is just too dark, and I lack the skills to compensate for the lack of light. I apologize for the badly lit blurry photos which will likely become the norm here, now that it's getting dark earlier and earlier.
*edit - In case you can't tell in the photos, the colourful image is just the photo I took and printed out as reference and the painting has only been sketched out so far. When I took these photos I hadn't actually started painting.
