DEAD CALM
Artwork Story:
I love producing wildlife artwork, but it's incredibly challenging. Such beautiful animals with such grace, power and emotion, but capturing that is not without its stresses. Without doubt one of my favourite animals is the tiger. I'd toyed for years with different compositions for this piece until settling upon this. I wanted to capture the beauty and the atmosphere altogether in this work and finding suitable subject matter and reference was hard to bring it together. It took an incredible amount of work to achieve the look and the atmosphere of the piece, but the final result is just what I was hoping for. We see the tiger motionless, deep in a darkened landscape watching it's prey intently. We don't see the prey, but it's just there behind your position as the viewer. The reflection in the murky water adding to the depth. Water droplets on the leaves, fur and whiskers heavy and wet, mist in the background adding to the sense of impending drama.
One of my favourite trademarks in my artwork is to break through the confines of the standard rectangular framing. I love to create drama and depth by having subject matter breaking beyond the edge of the composition and have employed it again here with the foliage around the edge. The use and placement of the foliage around the tiger in this composition is placed in such a way as to draw your concentration into the centre of the artwork.
RAINFOREST RETRIBUTION
Title: Rainforest Retribution
Size: 630mm x 450mm
Medium: Gouache, airbrush
Canvas: Daler Line & Wash Artboard
Client: Self
Artwork Story:
Again composition here is key. In a similar way to the 'Dead Calm' piece this artwork is a personal piece to showcase what I'd like to achieve as a wildlife illustrator. Rainforests are a passionate interest for me and I've created several such pieces in the past, but this one was for my own portfolio. Again the collaboration and portrayal of the subject matter took an incredible amount of time whilst I was scoping this artwork. Preparation can take as long as the execution of the artwork at times!
Each individual animal here has been completed with great detail and the detail is further heightened by the deliberate use of a background which is slightly out of focus. Again I have used my favourite license of having the subject matter both in and out of the frame of the piece to create further depth. The use of the frogs is intended to give a feeling that they are possibly not part of the artwork itself, but both looking in and crawling out of the artwork.
The waterfall and water effects are created with an airbrush, with the rest of the artwork being painted in Gouache.
Size: 630mm x 450mm
Medium: Gouache, airbrush
Canvas: Daler Line & Wash Artboard
Client: Self
Artwork Story:
Again composition here is key. In a similar way to the 'Dead Calm' piece this artwork is a personal piece to showcase what I'd like to achieve as a wildlife illustrator. Rainforests are a passionate interest for me and I've created several such pieces in the past, but this one was for my own portfolio. Again the collaboration and portrayal of the subject matter took an incredible amount of time whilst I was scoping this artwork. Preparation can take as long as the execution of the artwork at times!
Each individual animal here has been completed with great detail and the detail is further heightened by the deliberate use of a background which is slightly out of focus. Again I have used my favourite license of having the subject matter both in and out of the frame of the piece to create further depth. The use of the frogs is intended to give a feeling that they are possibly not part of the artwork itself, but both looking in and crawling out of the artwork.
The waterfall and water effects are created with an airbrush, with the rest of the artwork being painted in Gouache.
DRINKING PARTNERS, THINKING PARTNERS
Title: Drinking Partners, Thinking Partners
Size: 450mm x 630mm
Medium: Pencil
Canvas: Daler Line & Wash Artboard
Client: WWF
Artwork Story:
One of a series of pencil pieces highlighting different wildlife; this one surrounding the plight of both African and Indian elephants. This composition was actually a collaboration of 5 separate elephants in 5 differing scenes, brought together to appear to be drinking together. The artwork is created by the use of standard graphite pencils ranging from 2H at the lightest to 6B at the darkest. Working with the lightest areas first the depth is slowly built up through to the darkest shades being applied last.
I use my own technique for my pencil work when building definition and shade which involves no 'smudging' of the pencil on the canvas with your finger. This, I feel gives a much cleaner finish than the traditional smudging effect.
Size: 450mm x 630mm
Medium: Pencil
Canvas: Daler Line & Wash Artboard
Client: WWF
Artwork Story:
One of a series of pencil pieces highlighting different wildlife; this one surrounding the plight of both African and Indian elephants. This composition was actually a collaboration of 5 separate elephants in 5 differing scenes, brought together to appear to be drinking together. The artwork is created by the use of standard graphite pencils ranging from 2H at the lightest to 6B at the darkest. Working with the lightest areas first the depth is slowly built up through to the darkest shades being applied last.
I use my own technique for my pencil work when building definition and shade which involves no 'smudging' of the pencil on the canvas with your finger. This, I feel gives a much cleaner finish than the traditional smudging effect.
THE HUNTERS
Title: The Hunters
Size: 630mm x 450mm
Medium: Gouache, airbrush
Canvas: Daler Line & Wash Artboard
Client: The US Bourbon Company (USA)
Artwork Story:
Brief for an American editorial for a bourbon company. A simple brief of having a landscape scene full of American Eagles. Once again I employed my favourite composition trick of having the images break from the frame!
Whilst the separate eagles were taken from various existing photographic reference, the rocks and waterfall were made up as I went along as I preferred to experiment with the colours and formations.
The water itself, the trees in the mid-distance and the clouds were all created through the use of airbrush work. I use a Badger Renegade Krome airbrush which is a fantastic all round airbrush able to get incredibly detailed effects with the right patience!
Size: 630mm x 450mm
Medium: Gouache, airbrush
Canvas: Daler Line & Wash Artboard
Client: The US Bourbon Company (USA)
Artwork Story:
Brief for an American editorial for a bourbon company. A simple brief of having a landscape scene full of American Eagles. Once again I employed my favourite composition trick of having the images break from the frame!
Whilst the separate eagles were taken from various existing photographic reference, the rocks and waterfall were made up as I went along as I preferred to experiment with the colours and formations.
The water itself, the trees in the mid-distance and the clouds were all created through the use of airbrush work. I use a Badger Renegade Krome airbrush which is a fantastic all round airbrush able to get incredibly detailed effects with the right patience!
THE CHARACTERS
Title: The Characters
Size: 830mm x 560mm
Medium: Pencil
Canvas: Daler Line & Wash Artboard
Client: Self
Artwork Story: I like to set myself marathon undertakings! This was me setting myself an oversize piece of pencil artwork that I knew would challenge my ability to highlight detailed skin and characterisation within the medium of pencil. I would like to think some of my best work is saved for my hyper realistic pencil studies and this was to be my tour-de-force as it were! I gave myself the task of producing a piece on a scale I'd not taken on before and this is a biggie measuring 4ft x 3ft in size. I began with an A1 canvas. With a nod of the cap to one of my favourite wildlife photographers in Steve Bloom; I used his book 'Primates' as the source for this work. I wanted to create a montage of chimpanzees and bring about a collection of 'characters' from the eyes and the expressions of the subjects, whilst also focusing on the detail and the pencils ability to portray the texture of skin and fur so well.
Size: 830mm x 560mm
Medium: Pencil
Canvas: Daler Line & Wash Artboard
Client: Self
Artwork Story: I like to set myself marathon undertakings! This was me setting myself an oversize piece of pencil artwork that I knew would challenge my ability to highlight detailed skin and characterisation within the medium of pencil. I would like to think some of my best work is saved for my hyper realistic pencil studies and this was to be my tour-de-force as it were! I gave myself the task of producing a piece on a scale I'd not taken on before and this is a biggie measuring 4ft x 3ft in size. I began with an A1 canvas. With a nod of the cap to one of my favourite wildlife photographers in Steve Bloom; I used his book 'Primates' as the source for this work. I wanted to create a montage of chimpanzees and bring about a collection of 'characters' from the eyes and the expressions of the subjects, whilst also focusing on the detail and the pencils ability to portray the texture of skin and fur so well.
Title: Barn Owl
Size: 420mm x 300mm Medium: Gouache, Airbrush Canvas: Frisk CS2 NOT Surface Artboard Client: Private Commission Artwork Story: A privately commissioned piece of a Barn Owl study. The background was entirely constructed with the use of freehand airbrush work without masking and then the owl was painted using gouache. |
Title: The Rainforest
Size: 420mm x 300mm Medium: Gouache, Airbrush Canvas: Frisk CS2 NOT Surface Artboard Client: Private Commission Artwork Story: This is an early piece and one which really got me hooked on the rainforest theme for some of my work and was the introduction to the 'breakout' theme for much of my compositions. Whilst it's not exactly a showstopper, it's a work that I still put up as a reminder of where my inspiration to do wildlife illustration comes from. |
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