"Keeping Watch"

Finally back to painting.  We've decided to design our family room in a bit of a rustic style reminiscent of a cabin so I thought I should create some artwork for the walls that would help bring the theme together.  I have been thinking about bears and wolves mostly.

This guy was fun to paint.  Usually I leave the background for last and then struggle with what to do with it. This time I decided to jump right in and lay in the background first.

The background was done in two wet-in-wet variegated washes, with an emphasis on the brighter gold green in the front near the wolf's face.  When both washes were completely dry I laid in the first washes of the trees, letting them fuzz and blur just a bit.  The small tree on the left will need to be muted a bit to push it into the distance behind the wolf's body.

Close up of the eyes.  I really wanted to keep the warm glow and intense gaze as this is my focal point. The colors I used for this painting are Winsor Newton Artist Watercolors, Green Gold, Olive Green, Raw Sienna, Burnt Sienna and Paynes Gray.  I also used a little Titanium white for highlights.

"Keeping Watch"

Watercolor 14" x 20"

Arches Cold-Press Watercolor Paper