Deer, camel, and a yak

Hog Deer

I’ve been working on the Whipsnade Zoo commission this week, and enjoying it.  I got a fair amount done, too, which is good.  Here’s a picture of the hog deer in progress, showing how I paint by layering up the different tones of the fur in tiny brush strokes.

And here is the final.

I loved this one, he has such rich purplish colouring on his legs, and I’m loving the delicacy of the dappled spots these animals’ summer coats display.

Other animals

Here are the rest of the ones I’ve completed this week; a Bactrian camel

a pair of blackbuck,

and a Pere david deer.

A problematic Yak

I think the yak looks far too much like it has an expression (and a miserable one at that).  This is a problem I quite often have when my animal paintings seem to be anthropomorphised despite my best intentions.  There are still a handful of deer left to illustrate.

I’ve also been asked to do the cover illustration for Laura Solomon’s new book of short stories (currently being written). She liked the pictures I did for her book Alternative Medicine a few years ago.  I’m pleased about this, and look forward to painting her a spider. I’ll start once the deer and  the Whipsnade job is completed.