Thursday 25 March 2010

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.


Thursday 18 March 2010

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....