The Research: A glorious day out at Dunham Massey, one of the best places I know in terms of seeing wildlife at its best around Britain. As well as finding a lot of deer, I also experienced seeing a king fisher. The best part of doing things the way I do is that I truly don't know where to start. So much happened in one day out that we ended up visiting twice the same week. This particular deer caught my eye as it was brave enough, first to walk right up to us, then to go eat from a tree stump a few feet away. After some time,, capturing a lot of reference shots, it finally came to a stand still and started to groom itself. Turns out the antlers are a very useful tool to do this even if most of the time they may be like the peacocks tail, a handicap.
About The Painting: The reason for choosing to paint the deer this way is due to the composition, and the positioning. It is directly in the centre of two overgrown grasses, in a natural position, grooming itself. Of course this is an oil painting which brought about new difficulties with lighting and leaves. So much detail went into the overall image that it took longer than normal to produce the final piece which can be seen here.
Final Message: With each new painting comes new difficulties, accept the struggles and the mistakes ahead and plough right through them with persistence and determination.
Painting is now FOR SALE |
