When Art Comes A' Roaring

In the words of singer, Jazmine Sullivan, "I'm not scared of lions and tigers and bears". Only in this case its lions and tigers and leopards. Yes folks its time for yet another art blogpost showcasing the subjects that inspire artistic desire. Once again I'd like to share some art pieces that were good fun to depict. These pieces, like the portraits of the previous post (Why I Love Portraits) were my first time attempts at depicting animals.   

This tiger was a bit of a struggle for me since there is so much going on. He's supposed to be coming out of some water and shaking himself dry so I tried to capture that movement. This was done in acrylic paint on canvas.

This white leopard was done mainly in pencil. I used chalk pastels for the colour in the eyes, the nose and the tongue. I really tried to capture the intensity in his eyes. There was so much mesmerizing tension there. I also used charcoal for the darkest areas. The drawing was done on cartridge paper.

This sleeping leopard was the most adorable subject. I borrowed a book based on wild animals from the library and the pictures there were so beautiful. When I found this leopard, I knew I had to paint him. This was done with acrylic paints on cartridge paper.

This lion was a bit difficult for me as far as getting proportions right. If you hadn't noticed, the nose is a bit twisted but considering how hard I worked on it I was quite pleased that I found my way to the end. This was done quite a few years ago so I want to try another one soon to compare with this and see how my skills have improved. I may have a lion depicting contest coming up in a future art blog between me and a few other artists. If you want in on the contest let me know in the comments and I'll arrange to have your best depiction of a lion in that particular blogpost. Here I used acrylic paints on cartridge paper.

Just as a little bonus I'd like to post two more paintings. As you can see they aren't animals but they are paintings that reflect the nature around us. Both animals and nature are definitely something to enjoy!