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Title : "Deity"
Medium : Acrylics on a wooden panel
Date : April 2014
Size : 10" x 20"
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Welcome! This is my first real post within this blog, still deciding on an overall format of my posts. I have plans of posting finished pieces, occasionally work-in-progress stuff, little how-to pieces, sources of inspiration, etcetera.
Here we go!
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For those that are fresh to my artwork, I love painting wildlife. Painting animals is a release for me, nature has been a passion of mine my entire life (a nickname as a child was "The Walking Animal Encyclopedia" - it was well chosen). I've cycled through favorites like any person, but seem to settle on a few oddballs, or rather the critters that aren't as common (vultures, anyone?).
Elephants have always had my heart. They're enormous, magnificent and wrinkly, and have eyes that seem to hold all of the world's knowledge.
They're beautiful, in my eyes.
My boyfriend spent the first 13 years of his life in South Africa, so naturally that has stemmed a huge portion of my inspiration. This piece here is the first of a series of five, featuring the wonderful African Big Five.
Elephant, lion, leopard, rhinoceros, and cape buffalo.
I knew I was going to end up doing a series featuring the Big Five before long, but like a lot of my pieces, I couldn't settle for just a typical realism portrait. I needed something extra. I hemmed and hawed, and settled upon a central idea.
Gods.
I wanted to give the Big Five a god-like appeal, with a sort of tribal flair. They would be the center of a sort of dogma, the five would be worshiped and loved by all. Festivals and ceremonies would be held in their name, where they would adorn the Big Five with totems and items of power.
Title : "Deity"
Medium : Acrylics on a wooden panel
Date : April 2014
Size : 10" x 20"
-----------
Welcome! This is my first real post within this blog, still deciding on an overall format of my posts. I have plans of posting finished pieces, occasionally work-in-progress stuff, little how-to pieces, sources of inspiration, etcetera.
Here we go!
---
For those that are fresh to my artwork, I love painting wildlife. Painting animals is a release for me, nature has been a passion of mine my entire life (a nickname as a child was "The Walking Animal Encyclopedia" - it was well chosen). I've cycled through favorites like any person, but seem to settle on a few oddballs, or rather the critters that aren't as common (vultures, anyone?).
Elephants have always had my heart. They're enormous, magnificent and wrinkly, and have eyes that seem to hold all of the world's knowledge.
They're beautiful, in my eyes.
My boyfriend spent the first 13 years of his life in South Africa, so naturally that has stemmed a huge portion of my inspiration. This piece here is the first of a series of five, featuring the wonderful African Big Five.
Elephant, lion, leopard, rhinoceros, and cape buffalo.
I knew I was going to end up doing a series featuring the Big Five before long, but like a lot of my pieces, I couldn't settle for just a typical realism portrait. I needed something extra. I hemmed and hawed, and settled upon a central idea.
Gods.
I wanted to give the Big Five a god-like appeal, with a sort of tribal flair. They would be the center of a sort of dogma, the five would be worshiped and loved by all. Festivals and ceremonies would be held in their name, where they would adorn the Big Five with totems and items of power.
So out came the pencil and my boyfriend's photos from his last trip to South Africa.
It was my first experiment with a wooden panel, and I fell in love. Canvas is wonderful, but fine detail can be a struggle due to the texture of the fabric. With a sanded wooden panel, its smooth as can be.
I knew the pieces were going to be greyscale, most likely with a pop of colour. Just happen to be gold leaf. I love the effect that gold leaf has, wonderfully shiny and metallic, with a tiny hint of gaudiness.
"Deity" is not currently for sale. I most likely will finish the series and offer a price for the five collectively.
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