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.
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