Primal Endurance - Hyena Illustration

I've always been one to fall in love with things, especially animals, that most people may think are ugly or bad. Hyenas, vultures and Sphynx cats (I swear I will own one some day!) are just a few that are on that list. Somehow hearing and seeing people recoil in regards to a certain critter makes me like them even more. Go figure. 

I was happy to find out that a friend of mine also has a huge love for hyenas! There are some very neat facts about hyenas, plus they can be absolutely adorable. I personally am a bit on the fence as to which species I like best, as I love the facial features of Spotted Hyenas (like seen in this blog post), but love the coat pattern of Striped Hyenas. 

"Primal Endurance" by Danielle Trudeau. 11" x 14", ink on bristol paper.

That friend decided to commission me for an ink piece featuring a spotted hyena, and I must say that it was an absolute pleasure to work on. Its been awhile since I've gone into crazy-detail-mode with ink, I really missed it. 

It measures 11"x14", and was done on bristol paper with various pens and a bottle of India Ink. I also use a waterbrush (from Pentel I think?), and load that baby up with diluted ink for some washes. That is one of my secret weapons when it comes to working with ink. Wash wash wash away~

Angle view of "Primal Endurance".

Although the original already has its new home, there are prints for sale on FineArtAmerica!

http://fineartamerica.com/featured/primal-endurance-danielle-trudeau.html

---------- 

Recent Pastel Craze - Finished Pieces

Way back in 2008 I was introduced to soft pastels as a medium, and something else that has captured my heart since that time - velour paper!

I've only used soft pastels on two types of surfaces, watercolour paper and velour. And let's just say that I will not be doing more work with the watercolour paper.

Velour is a nifty paper that actually has a layer of fibres on one side, imagine something similar to velvet. The fibres capture the pastel dust perfectly, the colours are vibrant and in my eyes it gives everything a lovely dream-like quality. I simply love the stuff.

I took a break from the medium for a few years, and finally felt the urge to give it another shot recently. That sent me digging through my supplies for my trusty soft pastels and velour paper!

Deity - African Elephant

----------

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.