Hyacinth Macaw

Well it's that time of year again when it's time to enter the DSWF Wildlife Artist of the Year competition. I seem to always enter the 'endangered species' category, probably because unfortunately the most beautiful animals on this planet are now threatened with extinction. The Hyacinth Macaw is a perfect example. A truly stunning bird, it has been on the IUCN Red List as endangered since the year 2000, due to the destruction of it's habitat and being captured for the pet trade. 

So as such I thought it would be the perfect subject to paint for this year's competition. The most difficult challenge was recreating that vivid blue plumage. I used a mix of Ultramarine, Cobalt Blue and Intense Blue. I wanted a bit of contrast against the blue, so I added some purple as a highlight, and Paynes Grey as a shadow. I kept the feather detail to a minimum as I wanted the colours to merge and run into each other, to create texture and pattern. 

Let's keep fingers crossed that the judges like this painting enough to include it in this year's exhibition!

Gordon Setter

It seems fitting for me to begin 2013 with a new blog post, which admittedly has been a long time coming! I must admit I have been quite lax with my art in recent months, but I aim to be much more prolific this year.

This piece is a Christmas present commission that I painted in early December. Dogs are a subject I rarely paint, but after this I think they are something I should tackle more often! This Gordon Setter proved to be a beautiful subject for watercolour. The rich blues, blacks and golds in the fur are a striking combination when blended together, and the fluffy fur was fun to paint with my messy, splatty brushstrokes.I think it actually looks like she has just emerged from a good swim in a pond! 
What I feel is most successful, is that there is a lot of 'life' in the face of the setter. With any animal I always put a lot of time into getting the eyes right, which gives the piece a great sense of character.