Animal Art from Kat Davies

What do we mean by animal art with soul?

From ancient images of cave paintings
portraying the raw spirit of survival and energy of a deer hunt, to the famous story of Noah’s Ark, to modern day cartoons such as the Lion King, images of wildlife art are all around us and have been since ancient times.  Animal imagery appears to stir a instinctive link humans have with the Earth and the animals with which we share it.

Animal art with soul often evokes a strong emotional effect and bears the true essence of the animal.  It is more than an exercise in photo-realism – it goes deeper than a photograph, to capture the very nature of the wildlife it portrays, it can transcend any artistic style and perhaps artistic ability.  A beginner can paint wildlife art with soul as effectively as a seasoned professional, especially when taking notice of the following five things common in the best wildlife art.

Eyes that shine.

Commonly called the “windows to the soul”. They have to contain a glimpse of life and reveal a characteristic, mood or an identifiable reaction to a particular moment in the life of the animal subject.  Check out the cat artwork by talented artist Kat Davies to see illuminating examples of big cat eyes in her portfolio of leopard, tiger and lion paintings.

Colour and texture.

Re-create the texture of the fur as exactly as possible to reproduce the sense of long, soft, short, coarse, straight, curly, or spiky hairs.  Skin might be pink, black, green, blue, wrinkled or smooth, semi transparent where some light shows through, dry and scaly or damp like the rims around the eyes or the nose. Add the little vital spark of life!

An interesting background

The background can create drama, atmosphere and nostalgia.  For examples, study the superb works of Robert Bateman which show how evocative natural backgrounds can improve your wildlife art and bring your animal subject to life.

The lighting

Dramatic lighting gives animation to work. Think of sunlight being filtered through the mane of a lion, or the cold reflected light on the flanks of a polar bear.  The cool hints of shadow and the warm tones of sunlight place your animal in the ongoing cycle of nature from day to night, season to season and give a sense of changing time, weather and climate.

A story

A good background will help a picture to ‘tell a story’.  Quite often the viewer of the piece might imagine an ending for themselves and actively connect with the painting. See the wildlife paintings of John Seerey-Lester, especially those of his historic hunts, to see story-telling in art.

Whether painting ‘cute and furry’ animals such as cubs, puppies and kittens, the harsh or romantic wild including the Big Five, animals in the field of hunting or sport, birds in the garden or even the cherished family pet portrait, keep in mind that memorable animal art is animal art with soul.

If you would like to see stunning examples of dog art  then take a look at http://www.katdavies.com. There is an extensive gallery of these and other works, and is especially interesting if you are interested in portraits of your pet.

Tags

Wedding gifts, Wedding Flowers, wedding gowns, wedding themes

Related posts

• Soarking your children's interest in art (0)
• Protecting Your Art With The Portfolio (0)
• Macrame Bracelets Are Still In Fashion Nowadays (0)
• How To Organize Your Art Supplies (0)
• Developing Artwork Out Of Celebrity Caricatures (0)