Caribbean Blue (painting)

This is Jimmylegs for =FaeTian, one of my first and best dA friends who has also been gifting me subs for a couple of years now. So this is my way of thanking her for both that and being an awesome friend.
This took a bit longer than I planned, but I felt that you deserved my best work so I took the extra time to add the details. But I think it was worth the wait.
If you want the unwatermarked version, Fae, let me know.

My favorite parts would have to be the eye and water. It's one of those rare moments when you finish painting something, stand back and say "wait, I drew that?!" Usually I have trouble with eyes looking like glass and have to do several paint-overs, but not this time. The horse's shading was fun to do; in the end it didn't even need the fur texturing. It's been a while since I've done something this detailed and I really enjoyed it. The most important thing with a drawing like this isn't wondering when you'll be done...it's enjoying the journey.
The sky I'm not too happy with so I might go back and fix those clouds later. (Edit: Done!) But overall I like this piece. Decided to go with something tropical for the background as that's where I wish I was right now.

No textures or special brushes used - everything is hand-painted.

Photoshop Elements 5 & Wacom Bamboo Fun Tablet

Jimmylegs (horse) © =FaeTian
Artwork © Me (*oceans-inferno)
All rights reserved. This artwork may not be copied, edited, reproduced, distributed, transmitted or otherwise used in any way, shape or form. End of story.

_{Horse ref by ~Vikarus
Background reffed from own photo}