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It has been quite a while since I last picked up a paintbrush. I don't have any excuses, I suppose I have just had a 'block' of some sort!
However, as I comeback I wanted to attempt a subject I haven't tried before.
Any young animal is a challenge, and I thought a great subject would be a puppy. This is 'Tala', my parents' new German Shepherd. I kept the paint application very loose, working on very wet paper, allowing the colours to bleed into one another. I later added darker patches onto the still wet paper, to add shadow and tone, adding extra water where I wanted lighter fur areas. The finishing touch was some smaller splashes and flicks of thicker paint to highlight her fluffiness. The most difficult part of her to paint were her eyes. I added bright highlights of white to make them shine, then wet the paint around the pupils and lifted it with some tissue to further highlight the colour of the irises. I don't normally work this loosely, but I think I will try and do it more in the future as I am very pleased with the effects.
In other news I have submitted 3 paintings to the 2012 National Exhibition of Wildlife Art. Fingers and toes crossed that they shortlist at least one of my paintings!
Believe it or not, tigers like nothing better than to cool off in lakes and streams, and will even hunt in water. The most famous tigers to display this behaviour are those in Ranthambore National Park, India.
As tigers are incredibly threatened at the moment, I thought they would make the perfect subject for this years DSWF wildlife art competition.
This is actually my second attempt at this image. I did not anticipate how hard the reflections could be - they can very easily turn into a big watery and muddy mess! I kept them very simple, by wetting the shape of the reflection area, then adding loose blobs of either red, orange or blue/black. Once the area had almost dried, I added the surrounding water, letting some areas run into the reflection.
I put the most detail into the tiger's head. I used layers of fine 'brush splatters' to create a furry appearance, more so on the longer fur under the ears.
I have kept the background neutral, as this means the main focus is on the tiger and the water. Foliage or riverbank could easily make the image muddy and dull.
After some reassurance, I am now happy with this watercolour, and will enter it in the 'Endangered' category, along with the Red Breasted Geese. Wish me luck!
