African Big Cat Trio

African Big Cat Trio - Leopard
21" X 16"
Original Oil

This male leopard was one of my favorites of the nine I saw on my last trip to Africa. He was trying to gain the favor of an aloof female and his amorous attentions finally won her over.

The completed African Big Cat Trio below, which will be framed individually, will be available at the Safari Club International Convention at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center in Las Vegas, February 5th - 8th, 2014.

Moving on to the Leopard

For the last in this African Big Cat Trio I have the leopard. Maybe I shouldn't have a favorite animal, but I have an particular affinity for the leopard. The power, grace, and beauty of this cat coupled with its secretive and adaptive nature fascinate me.

The Lion

African Big Cat Trio - Lion

21" X 16"

Original Oil

I certainly remember this lion. He was a magnificent male in the Masai Mara with battle scars illustrating his victories. At the time I saw him, he was with a lioness and they were ready to start the next generation. There was no doubt in my mind that he was king of the beasts.

Note: If you compare this to the last post, you will see I took out a stick in the lower right. It was distracting and needed to be edited.

Starting the Lion

As with the cheetah, I have fixed the eyes on the viewer. The pupils are small giving one the impression the lion is not happy to see you.

When painting animals, I spend a lot of time painting the eyes. A slight change can take a friendly cat into one afraid, hurt, hungry, satiated, territorial, or angry. It helps to have spent time in the wild with the big cats and watch emotions play across their faces.

Cheetah

African Big Cat Trio - Cheetah

21" X 16"

Original Oil

Wild cats are one of my favorite creatures to paint. So with a trio, I am in heaven.

For this set, I wanted intense eyes in the three paintings. The best way to accomplish that is to use a trick of visual perception. With the eyes focused directly out of the painting, they will appear to follow you regardless of the angle you view the painting. Just try it, move your head back and forth while looking at the screen. (click on the image for a larger view.) The effect is even more prominent when standing in front of the oil painting.

This "trick" has been around for centuries and used by many Renaissance painters. Most notably by Leonardo DaVinci in his painting, Mona Lisa.

Though you know you are looking at a flat surface, your brain creates a 3-D interpretation (at least if the painter works the lights and darks well.) You expect the eyes to stay focused perpendicular to the painting surface and when you move to the side your brain tells you they should look different because that is what happens in real life. But the painted eyes haven't changed. Your brain continues to create a 3-D object from the 2-D plane regardless of the viewing angle making the eyes appear to be following you.

This visual trick works particularly well on predators and I think best on the big cats.

Cheetah

I thought I would start with the cheetah. This piece will have the most muted colors of the three but I hope will be just as dramatic.
There will be more detail added to the face/head. Once I finish the rest of the coat, I will revisit the head, add the "white" around the mouth and add the whiskers. More texture and depth in the face and some warmer colors will help the cheetah stand out from the background.

African Big Cat Trio

I have started on the Big Cat Trio. Each painting is 21" X 16". Below you can see my raw sienna/burnt sienna turpentine underpaintings for each piece. I'm not sure which cat I'll paint first.