Finished Jaguar painting

Jag   original oil    8.25" X 11"

Almost Done

 While I don't paint every hair, I do keep in mind the direction of the fur. Much of the larger fur sections are painted with a small flat angle brush.

More Color

 The next step is more color, lots more color!

At this stage my palette has a number of yellow, orange, and burnt sienna mixtures. Other than the ears, I haven't painted the lightest "whites" of the cat.

More Jaguar

 This jaguar painting is a bit smaller than my Gold Collection paintings which are 12" X 9". I thought the type of background I have used for the Gold Collection would lend itself well to this painting.

Gold Collection - Whooping Crane

Gold Collection - Giraffe

I've made the background a bit cooler than the above Gold Collection to make the warmth of the jaguar's fur really stand out.

So far there is not much color except for the eyes and the nose.

 

Evolution of a Jaguar

If you were hoping for a detailed analysis of the biological evolution of the western hemisphere's largest cat, sorry.

This is just how I put together this 8.25" X 11"  jaguar painting. In a small format, stripes and spots take a long time to paint but I still like to mix in to my portfolio small paintings of giraffe, zebra and spotted cats.

For this piece which will have a portrait feel, I lightly brushed a turpentine/raw sienna wash over my drawing. (Note: I finished my drawing with a light touch of a 4H pencil so the turpentine would not wash it away.) If you look at the top of the board, you can see the texture of my gesso. For this sized painting, I kept the gessso fairly flat so it did not unduly distract from the small details.

My next step is to use more raw sienna in my wash. I like to start with the eyes so the cat can keep an eye on my progress. To make the eyes come alive, I spend extra time with their shading.

While doing a heavier turpentine wash on all the spots takes time, it will give a warm glow under the spots which reads well in the finished painting.

Bald Eagles!

 Each year near the end of November and the beginning of December, bald eagles arrive at Lake Coeur d'Alene, Idaho to feed on the spawning land-locked salmon. Fortunately for me, I live just a little over an hour away.

There is a great spot at the end of the road to watch eagles swoop down to collect their prize. A large parking lot is handy for the numerous eagle watchers. We like to climb down the bank and position ourselves across a small bay. A dead pine on the other side is Eagle Central. Sometimes there are six bald eagles on this one tree (which generates various arguments on who gets a particular branch.)

Yesterday my husband and I were a bit dubious as we drove along the lake to the end of the road. Dense banks of fog were covering the road and lake in spots. But, I was thrilled with the light when we got there.

An eagle emerging from the fog

A salmon the shallows

Barely hanging on

from my trip there Nov. 27, 2020

November 27, 2020 trip

And when the sky cleared yesterday!

Last year the eagle count was highest on December 10th. I think I might need another trip.

Finished

                                                     Wood Pile            12" X 18"      Original Oil