So long 2009...

Well here is my last painting of the year. Despite a two week break over Christmas, I was able to dive back into painting and complete this image in 4 hours.
The red squirrel is such an adorable animal, and has so much more appeal than the grey. I wanted to do that red fur justice, and so used a mixture of orange, red-pinks and browns to give the rich hue seen on the paper. The tail is very dense, and so a dark shadow and layers of 'splattered' red and white inks helped give the fluffy texture.
The only problem I see with the image is the ears. I may have overdone the tufts a little. I think the image could have also benefited from a seasonal touch, by adding a sprinkling of snow and some pine cones to the branch. That will be something to bear in mind for a future painting.

So, aims for next year? I would like my paintings to gain more notoriety. I will enter more competitions which will hopefully help achieve this. I will also look into including more backgrounds. Nothing detailed, just expressive colours and brush-strokes so as not to distract from the main image. Lastly, I will aim to improve my photography, so I can collect a valuable library of reference material. See you in 2010....