inspiration
because the theme is asking for help, I wanted to paint an animal that works in groups. I thought about painting a fruit dove, but they are solitary animals. I visited the Endangered Species Coalition website and they included an article on gray wolves. I searched to find a reference photo and ended up at Freepik. This arresting photo was created using AI. That usually gives me pause, but this looks plausible so I’m going with it.
Strategy – I wrote last month about painting using only a few marks, but this photo doesn’t call me to that. Instead, I can imagine each stroke representing a fine hair. I want to concentrate on the face of the alpha wolf. His companions can be blurry suggestions in the background. Make sure to LEAVE SPACE FOR WHITE! (Especially catch lights in pupils.) Think about lights and darks. Colors: orange, possibly mixed with purple to make gray and black. (Do some tests.)
Intention: to capture the gaze of the alpha wolf; to include more than one animal; to work with sharp focus foreground vs. Blurred background. Leave some parts of background UNPAINTED (from the right of the right wolf to the left of the alpha?) See if I can do this without over painting anywhere. Green background first (remember margin around the wolves).
Creation & session log
- I sketched in the wolf bodies and alpha wolf’s eyes and nose in gray, trying to keep things light. I’m feeling pretty good about it, except I think the alpha wolf may be too wide and the face not long enough. Eyes not slanted enough? Next: green background.
- Moved nose down on alpha wolf and painted mossy green on background. I could not darken the green because the area was too wet, so I will have to add a second coat. (This seems unskilled. Research?)
- Worked more on alpha wolf, using gray to fill-in face and body fur. Later I thought “I was lazy; I used the gray from the paint tray, rather than mixing it.” Rewording that to be more kind, “budgeting my energy, I used the gray from the paint tray.” Next to one of the grays is a dark blue/purple. I used that a bit too. I am a bit concerned that the paint may have gotten darker than I want in some areas.
- Mixed black (red, green, blue) and painted alpha wolf eyes and a bit around the body. Then I roughed in the other two wolves using orange and gray. At the end of the session, I backed away and thought “almost there.” I did not leave room for catch lights in the eyes (I plumb forgot). I like the sketchiness of the companion wolves.
- Added finishing touches. I painted the beta wolves’ eyes, except one, which I asked my brother to paint. It was good to ask her for help, but I did not do it very graciously (“I want you to…”) as I was exhausted by that time.
Insights
- Strategy is helpful, but I tend to forget it once I have the brush in my mouth. It’s all about making the next mark. Look at the photo and instinctively know what’s next. [I just watched a video with artist Dorothea Rockburne. She said “when I paint, I don’t think…”]
- It was also helpful to write up my intentions. Other than leaving catch lights in eyes, I think I did what I intended. Yay! I like the sketchiness of the beta wolves.
- To do better next time: contrast! Most of this painting is at the same value. Higher contrast would add focus, drama, and volume.
- Wolves are a perfect example of animals working together.