Snow Leopard

Here is my first completed entry for the David Shepherd 2011 competition. Big cats, including Snow Leopards, are quite popular subjects in this competition. It was an Amur Leopard that got me through to the finals last time so I thought I would focus on a similarly endangered species.
This was a very difficult image to initially sketch out. The face of the cub especially, took a good few hours to get right. The other challenge was to create the 'fluffy' look of the fur. These leopards have incredibly dense fur to keep out the cold, and this is what differentiates them from other big cats. To recreate the fluffy look, I simply flicked the black and cream colours onto the paper. I also outlined the form of the leopards with white ink. I kept the background simple, as these cats live in snow covered mountains. A wash of paynes grey and more flicks of black completed the picture.
I want to enter two paintings, and so this weekend I will set to work on either a Scarlet of Hyacinth Macaw. These will be perfect subjects for the 'Endangered' category.

Goldfinch

Well this is the first painting I have attempted in quite a few weeks, and I am not sure I have done a great job! It will take a few trial and error pieces to get back into the swing of things.
I wanted to paint something Autumnal, and the image of goldfinches feeding on the seed heads of teasel is a common sight at this time of year. The birds cling on at all sorts of strange angles to get to the seed, and I wanted to convey this in the painting. I am happy with the colouring of the bird, as the bright red and gold feathers really stand out. I am just not sure that the feet are quite right, and I may need to add some shadow where the bird meets the teasel. The lighting is slightly questionable at the moment.

It is now time for me to get to work on my entry for the 2011 David Shepherd Wildlife Artist of the Year competition. I am going to paint an image for the endangered category once again, and my chosen subject will be a snow leopard. It is going to be hard, but I think the mottled fur will look good in my splattered watercolours.

Long time no speaky

I have neglected both my painting and this blog for the past two months. In my defence, I have barely had a weekend free since moving house in August. It took a fair few weeks just to get everything unpacked and put in place.
However I have found some time to get out and enjoy nature. Autumn is by far the best time of year to visit woodland. I had a stroll through Epping Forest this Saturday, and it was idyllic. The reds and yellows of the fallen leaves contrasting against the green foliage was beautiful. The sun shone only too briefly, but long enough for me to get a few photographs. There was also a vast amount of different fungi bursting through the floor, which I found fascinating . Only last week the London papers reported that people were stealing crates and crates of fungi from the forest. It would be a dreadful shame if greed were to rid the forest of it's wonderful flora and fauna.
If you haven't done so already, I recommend a visit to Epping. You will find it very inspirational. It has certainly inspired me to pick up a paintbrush again and try my hand at some landscapes.

White Stars

These two girls are 'white star' chickens, and have beautiful white feathers. They also lay beautiful white eggs. There's nothing they like more than sitting down and enjoying the sun, and this is the best time to grab a pencil and sketch them. I know the hen lying down looks a bit odd, mainly because she has a big floppy comb! I simply had to include it, as it gives her so much character.
I always struggle to paint white subjects as I usually do not include a coloured background. However the shadowing on the feathers is a wonderful shade of blue, so this is the easiest way to outline and add depth to the hen. I do think I could have improved the painting slightly by adding a warm cream or yellow colour, to give the impression of sunlight illuminating the feathering.

In other news, this Friday I will be submitting four paintings to the annual SWLA exhibition at the Mall Galleries. Fingers crossed that my images make it through the judging process to the final show on the 22nd of September.

Curious Chicken

I'm a little embarrassed to say that it has been over a month since I last picked up a paintbrush! My rather lame excuse is that there has been a lot going on, such as trying to find a new job and house-hunting.
I wanted to paint something I was confident with to help me get back into the swing of things. I grew up with a garden full of chickens, and one day plan to have some of my own. In the meantime, I have my parents chickens to observe. They are very curious creatures, and if you step into their territory they will come and watch what you are doing, poke around at your feet, or sometimes just stare at you with those slightly Dinosaur-like faces! This character is what I aimed to capture in this hen.
Black Rock chickens have one of my favourite 'colour schemes'. The black feathers shine blue-green in the light, and the neck feathers are peppered with a glorious orange. I tend to avoid backgrounds in my paintings, but I felt adventurous this time and threw down a rusty, farmyard orange/brown frame using big, bold brushstrokes. I assure you, even though the border looks uneven, it is straight. The camera has just managed to distort it!
I hope you like this curious girl. It has certainly inspired me to get painting again!

Punk-Rockhopper

Well I haven't managed to take a trip to the Falkland Islands to get some Rockhopper reference, but I did find a photo I took at London Zoo of their resident male, Ricky.
I think these penguins are one of the most comical looking creatures on the planet. This guy has a haircut plucked straight out of the 80's. He reminds me of David Bowie in the film 'Labyrinth'! (If you haven't seen this fim already I highly recommend it!)

I may have overdone the yellow head feathers a bit, but I think it adds even more character to this penguin. He was pretty easy to paint, but I spent an absolute age trying to get his beak correct. It's quite an unusual, razor-like beak with lots of grooves and angles.
One of the reasons this image was so quick to execute is the monochrome colours. Although the blacks in my paintings are never pure black. Rockhopper feathers have a lovely blue sheen which I had to re-create with blue ink blobbed over the top of the black watercolour. The red eye stands out like a mini fire, so I used 'mars red' and a crisp highlight of white acrylic to make it shine.
I am tempted to get this fella framed and entered in the SWLA exhibition in August. I think he would prove to be a popular and certainly an alternative looking addition!

DSWF Wildlife Artist of the Year 2010

Once again it was an incredibly balmy DSWF exhibition at the Mall Galleries on Monday. I was incredibly excited, and felt honoured and chuffed to see my Amur Tiger painting hanging amongst such a wonderful collection of wildlife art. All the artists gathered at 3pm to hear the winners announced. Alas, we were told we would have to wait until 7:30pm!

The winner, Adam Binder seemed to be completely shell shocked up on the stage. It was interesting to see that a 3D work won, and he is certainly a worthy winner.
Even though I was not a prize winner, I was delighted to see a little red spot on my painting when I walked down the steps. It makes all the hard work worthwhile, and it is great to know that someone loves my work enough to invest in it. What is even more important, is that 50% of the proceeds from the sale of my painting will go towards the vital DSWF conservation projects.
The exhibition is available to view at the Mall Galleries until the 29th May, so if you haven't already I highly recommend a visit! More information can be found at: http://www.wildlifeartistoftheyear.org

Now I have to start thinking about creating a piece to enter in next year's competition, as entries are already being called for! I also aim to return to the Mall Galleries in August, and submit work to the SWLA open exhibition.

Cockney Sparrows

I have been neglecting my painting of late. Now the weather has improved I have been spending most of my time in the garden or out walking. Last weekend I went for a walk through Epping Forest. I have never been before and I was in awe of how lovely it is. It is full to the brim with ancient, gnarled trees and birdsong. I wouldn't say it is a great place for wildlife watching, as it is very busy in terms of other walkers and cyclists. I did come away with some great photographs of trees and foliage though.
This painting here was completed a few weeks ago, but I made some adjustments. House sparrows are under serious threat at the moment. Increased development in the cities is destroying the meadows where they feed on insects. The RSPB has launched a project called the 'cockney sparrows' project. They are trying to encourage people to plant insect friendly gardens etc. I have a garden full of these cockney sparrows. They love sitting in the blossoming cherry trees, which makes for a beautiful composition.

Humboldt Penguins

The bank holiday weekend has provided me with some extra painting time, which I have used to paint this pair of adorable penguins. I was able to gather some excellent reference at Marwell Zoo last year. The penguins were running around the enclosure, swimming and preening. I will be able to create several compositions using this wide variety of poses.
What I love about Penguins is that they are incredibly comical, especially the way they waddle after each other with wings outstretched. This character will form the basis of a future painting, but for this one I wanted something a little cosier; a protective male looking after his mate. Humboldt Penguins have lovely colouring. The black feathers have a red-brown sheen around the face and back, which changes to a blue sheen on the wings. I had to layer brown underneath black paint, and then drop water onto the black to allow the brown to show through on highlighted areas. This red-brown is also mirrored in their eye colour, which I made really crisp with the addition of a white highlight.
What I enjoyed the most was dropping little black spots onto their bellies! Such a cute little feature of this penguin.
What I would really like to collect is some Rockhopper Penguin reference. Rockhoppers have an amazing 'haircut' of spiky yellow feathers above their eyes. I could paint endless pictures of them! There is a resident Rockhopper at London Zoo but as the viewing platform is above the penguins, it's not a great place for photography. Best start saving for a trip to the Sub-Antarctic!

Sybil & Basil

I have not painted any fish for a while now. I went through a phase of painting Koi, which I really enjoyed doing. Koi have such lovely patterns and colours which suit my method of watercolour. In addition they are the perfect shape to arrange into beautiful and interesting compositions.
Before returning to Koi, I have painted a much smaller subject; 2 fancy goldfish. These two were living in an aquarium in my parents' living room, where I was able to get a few good photographs of them swimming around.
Fancy goldfish have extremely elaborate fins and tails. I actually struggled trying to get Basil's (the one on the right) correct. I'm still not sure whether I have managed to pull it off. I am however very happy with Sybil's colouring and shape. Her peppering of black, orange and blue was easy to recreate with loose watercolour. This was a quick painting to produce, only taking a couple of hours from start to finish. It just goes to show that the more you paint the more relaxed and confident you become. I also feel my observational skills are improving. I just wish I had the time and luxury to sit down and paint everyday!

Busy BumbleBee

To celebrate the welcome return of the warm weather, I have painted this little fuzzy garden visitor on a marigold. Insects are very different to my normal subjects, and therefore there is little room for anatomical mistakes. Bees are very intricate creatures, and while creating this piece I spent a huge amount of time getting the legs, eye and wings correct. I think I have done a pretty good job, but I am sure an entomologist could point out some corrections! What I am most pleased with is the fuzzy fur. I put down a flat wash of black or yellow, then layered splattered brown/white/blue using a paintbrush and dip pen. The flower was created by using wet on wet watercolour, and I let the red, pink and yellow mix together.
It is a sad fact that Bumblebees are becoming rarer in this country. It would be tragic to lose such an important insect, so to help them out I am planting lots of bee friendly plants this spring, including marigolds, honeysuckle, sunflowers, nasturtium and globe thistle.

Cheetah

Inspired by the success of my Tiger, last weekend I chose to paint a similar subject.I photographed both the Amur Tiger and this Cheetah on a visit to Marwell Zoo last year. This particular cheetah was lazing around in the sun, hence the laid back pose in this painting. Despite being a captive animal, the wild look is still evident in the eyes.
This was another quick painting to produce. I laid down a wash of yellow ochre and brown, then while the paint was still slightly wet, I blobbed on the black spots. I also splatted white, brown and black ink/watercolour on areas that needed extra texture. Between the legs, under the chin and on the ears being the main areas. Like the Tiger, I wanted the animal to fade into the paper, and not have solid, defined lines. I still need alter a few areas of the face. The pupil is not rounded enough, and I also think the edge of the nose is slightly too small. Once these changes are made it will be a complete painting that I am happy with, that I can go on to sell, possibly at the NEWA show later in the year.

Good News

As mentioned in a previous post, this year I entered the David Shepherd Wildlife Artist of the Year competition. Two pieces were submitted, my Green-wing Macaw portrait, and the Amur Tiger pictured here. Yesterday I received an email informing me that the Tiger has made it through to the exhibition and final judging on the 24th of May! I am over the moon, mainly because my work will be on show at the Mall Galleries in London, a prestigious gallery which showcases wonderful wildlife art exhibitions throughout the year. I attended the preview night last year, and the calibre of work on show was outstanding. I will no doubt be up against some very talented artists this year, so keep fingers and toes crossed for me. I will be more than happy just seeing my work on the walls....

Sanderlings

The cute little birds in this weekend's painting are called Sanderlings. They are a winter migrant to the UK, so can be seen anywhere along the British coast at this time of year. I have only seen them a few times, once on the beach in Hythe, Kent and a few times on the sandy beaches of Guernsey. They are very energetic little things, and run up and down the beach as the waves break and rush backwards, exposing the little crustaceans and molluscs that they eat.
I thought they would make a delightful composition, due to their speckled plumage. What I enjoy the most about this painting is the reflection in the sand. This was achieved by wetting the paper around the birds, then blobbing 'paynes grey' (my favourite and the most useful colour in my palette!) onto it with a thick, flat brush. I left some areas pale and added white inky streaks to areas that would catch the light around their feet and beaks. The finishing touch was the black reflection of their legs, again applied in small horizontal strokes to give that watery effect.
I really enjoyed painting these birds and I will probably try similar subjects in the future. I have often seen Turnstones on the beach in Hythe. These are beautiful little birds with striking summer plumage, which could easily be recreated with my speckled, flicking method of applying paint

Portrait of a Hare

Well as of tomorrow the half term is over and it's back to work. So I have made the most of my weekend by painting another Hare. Again, this was produced relatively quickly. I sketched the outline out in pencil yesterday, but the actual colour only took 3 hours to put down. I wanted to blend the Hare into the patch of grass it is sitting in, so I only added the hint of fur and the outline of it's long legs. The grass is also pale and very loosely applied to give a light and expressive effect. As with my last Hare painting, dark brown, black and white paint was flicked over a tan base to create the fluffy fur effect.
I much prefer this to the upright Hare portrait I produced last year. The pose is better and the ears are more pronounced and alert. Most importantly, I think this Hare has the 'flighty' look. He's been disturbed, is listening carefully, and thinking about making a break for it. The secret to achieving this effect to to paint a big bright eye, with a sparkling white highlight. It instantly makes the animal look 'alive'
Once Spring comes around, it would be great to go out and get some more Hare reference to help compose some more paintings. I would particularly like to capture some boxing hares, one of the best Spring spectacles. The only problem is trying to find such an elusive creature! The countryside around Brabourne in Kent where I grew up, will probably be a good place to start. Roll on Spring!

Silver Dorking

I have taken advantage of the first day of half term, by getting stuck into this proud cockerel. I used some reference gathered from Hackney Farm, where they had several breeds of cockerel strutting around with their hens. Thier cockerels were somewhat raggedy looking, so I made sure for the painting that I presented a sleek and healthy looking individual.
This painting was very quick to produce. I find that the more I paint the more confident I become with mark making and application of colour and water.
I think my favourite part of this image is the tail. I am fascinated by the green sheen that the black feathers emit in the light, so I layered turquoise over dark blue and black watercolour. By adding a drop of water the darker colours rushed to the edges of the feather, leaving the turquoise shining through. I don't use masking fluid on my paintings so I carefully work around areas I want left white, and then flick white ink or acrylic to create extra fluffiness (like at the base of the tail) or for extra highlight.
As I have a full week off, I will probably be able to get another watercolour done. My next subject is likely to be either some Sanderlings or a line of comical coots.

Hare in Form

I seem to be getting into the habit of posting paintings a week after I have finished them. I blame it on the hectic working week I have had, which has meant I have been getting home every evening exhausted and tired of looking at computer screens!
The Hare portrait and boxing hares I produced a year ago have captured a lot of attention, and I am told they are very popular with buyers in the art market. So here is my third attempt at a Hare. Hares are extremely hard to spot in the wild, due to the fact they crouch down in dips in the ground which they dig out, called 'forms'. They will suddenly bolt out at the last minute if they feel threatened, scaring the life out of you as you probably thought it was a lump of dirt!
I have captured the wary look in this hare. He could bolt at any minute, the wild eye fixed on you. The fur of a hare is layered with grey, black, blue and brown hair, so to capture this layered look I flicked all these colours one at a time onto the paper. With the grass, I layered green and yellow ochre then scraped out blades of grass with my fingertips (a messy method I know!) This was far more effective than painting blades of grass individually.
I will probably keep revisiting Hares as a subject. They are beautiful creatures and there are endless ways to represent them.

Scarlet

A couple of weeks ago I mentioned that I would be painting a Scarlet Macaw. Well, here is the finished result, and I have to say I am very pleased with this one. I have painted Macaws before. I began this blog with a pair of Green-wing Macaws, a watercolour I was very proud of. They are such a wonderful subject to paint, with rich red feathers and endless texture. I thought the Scarlet Macaw would be a perfect subject, with its gorgeous rainbow coloured feathers and long tail.
These watercolours do take a while to create, mainly because I have to wait for each section of colour to dry before moving onto the next. If I didn't do this all the colours would run together in a muddy mess. Dropping water or white ink onto slightly damp colour creates the highlighted feather effect, which is important with a subject like this. It would be far too dark and flat otherwise.
This painting will be entered into the BBC Wildlife Artist of the Year competition this week. The 'World Birds' category is the best place for it. I will also be entering my little egret into the 'British Birds' category. I'll know in April whether I have once again made it onto the shortlist.

Indian Runners

These five characters were actually painted last weekend, but a few finishing touches meant I could not get it photographed until now.

I have always wanted to have a go at painting Indian Runner Ducks. They are extremely comical with their strange upright posture, coupled with the way they all seem to run along together in a big line! The city farms of London always have them waddling around. I reckon it's mainly to entertain the children who visit!

I did not want to have just white ducks in this picture, as I think it is more interesting to have a mixture of patterns and colour. I enjoyed painting the 'pied' duck the most. Allowing the black and blue paint to run into each other and spread over the page, produced a very natural looking feathered pattern. Neither did I want to complicate the image with a background. Instead I wet the paper and flicked some ink over the floor beneath their feet, and once again let the black, green and brown run into each other.
I think what I enjoy the most about this picture is the movement. They are all moving along with purpose, and each individual seems to have it's own personality.

I have noticed that the BBC Wildlife Artist of the Year competition is looming once more. It is time to pick some more entries before the deadline. However, this weekend I may try and get a last minute watercolour done. I fancy tackling a Scarlet Macaw....

3 White Ducks

The start of 2010 has certainly been a snowy one! Here in London we only saw about 2 inches, but that was enough to disrupt transport, which meant I had to spend an extra day at home this week. I spent this day painting some Pekin Ducks. I took some lovely photos of these ducks when I was in Wiltshire recently, and they were certainly very photogenic.
I tried including a vaguely abstract background, however I am not sure it has had a positive result. The ground underneath their feet is textured and successful, but I feel the orange behind them is too scruffy and distracting. The idea was to have a background that compliments the blue feathers, which is striking, but I think I need a lot more practice. I am pleased with the ducks. They seem relaxed, enjoying the warm sunlight that is shining on their bodies.
I am going to paint some more ducks, but next time they will be Indian Runners. These strange fowl are so full of character and movement that they will be a lot of fun to recreate in watercolour.