"PURSUIT" - progression

The first painting of 2016 is done and dusted!

"PURSUIT"
Pastels, Charith Pelpola, 2016

After completing "Duel' last month, I've really wanted to continue painting 'action' scenes with a lot of movement and dynamism.

A Cheetah in chase was an obvious choice. This originally started with a bit of an experiment with a new set of watercolour pencils. But as I filled out the face and started to work on the body in motion, I began to overlay the watercolour with pastels - helping to give more texture to the fur.

Here's a quick video showing the stages in the painting's development:

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"Duel"

This is possibly the most action-packed painting I've ever done. It's taken a long time but its been a satisfying study.

"Duel" - progress.

My art is first and foremost a practice to satisfy my soul. It's my own vicarious connection with the natural world, and I hope in some ways that it also illustrates to a wider audience, the breath-taking beauty of the wilderness and its inhabitants.

But sometimes I fear (especially in the light of recent horrific reports of the continuing hunting and poaching of some of the world's most threatened species) that to paint a pretty picture might just lull my audience into a false sense of security.

Its easy for beauty to gloss over brutality...

Perhaps I should be painting the harsher realities of the 21st Century wilderness instead... the butchered elephant, the decapitated rhino, the skinned tiger. That would make 'em sit up and pay attention wouldn't it? But I bet those paintings wouldn't be going up on anyone's walls either...

There's little artists can do but paint with as much emotion and conviction as they can, and hope that at least some of that is conveyed in the final rendering.

And so I leave you with these duelling Arabian Oryx, declared extinct in the wild in 1972, and now up to a 1,000 living wild and free after concerted breeding and reintroduction programmes.

Maybe we can still turn things around...

"Duel", Charith Pelpola, 2015.
56x38cm, Pastel and Pencil.

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"DEVILDANCER" - Special Merit Award!

More good news - my painting, "devildancer", has just won a Special Merit Award in the Light Space & Time Online Art Gallery​ "Open" Art Competition.

Once again it was up against some fantastic works of art, so I am pleased: two competitions; two strikes!!!

Check out mine and the other entries here:

https://www.lightspacetime.com/open-art-exhibition-special-merit-category-3/

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A Company of Wolves

Sometimes a simple sketch has the potential to become something more...

When I was first drawing out this composition of a group of wolves, I was interested in the different positions and profiles of their faces.

But after the sketch was done, I went over it again in pen to give it more definition.

At the time I was also experimenting with watercolour pencils, so decided to apply a layer of colour as well.

In the end I cropped the picture to show just a trio - wasn't too happy with the look of the black wolf on top. Think it turned out okay!

"contact | margay" - progression

Here's another quick video, showing the stages of progress on my painting, 

"contact | margay'.

This took about five days in all, and was created with layers and layers of pastel.

Here's the finished piece:

contact | margay 2014, pastels

"In the heart of the Brazilian Atlantic Forest, a stray beam of sunlight penetrates the canopy and illuminates a high branch. Resting in the cradle of its bough, a Margay opens his eyes, and surveys his lofty kingdom. As the Sun becomes obscured by cloud and this green world is plunged once again into emerald darkness, he settles back down - and waits for night to fall..."

Black Cat Appreciation Day 2015

To celebrate Black Cat Appreciation Day, here's a little picture from a while back...

Its an imaginative characture of our own little black cat, Twinkly, who we sadly lost cancer in 2013 at the age of 12. Second-in-command to our matriarch Jelly and mother to Pumpkin, Twinky was a tough little cookie. Rescued from the drains at just a couple of months old and having been chewed on by rats and ants, she made a swift recovery and grew into a strong, independent - albeit stunted - cat.

We miss her dearly, but can definitely say, from firsthand experience that black cats are very special, and very cool!

Because of superstitious beliefs in some cultures, black cats are sometimes associated with bad luck and, sadly, are more likely to be put to sleep or wait a long time to be adopted from shelters. Black Cat Appreciation Day was launched to show people that a black cat could be the perfect cat for them, and help raise awareness about black cats in general.

 If you’ve been looking for a rescue cat yourself, why not consider a black cat? Not only are the superstitions about them bringing bad luck completely untrue, but you might find a black cat to be a fantastic feline companion for you!

Check out these 10 reasons why you should adopt a black cat.

WORLD ELEPHANT DAY

To mark World Elephant Day (August 12th), here's an earlier sketch I did entitled "IN REVERENCE", based on Gregory Colbert’s amazing collection of photography, Ashes and Snow.

Why World Elephant Day?

Because the world’s elephants are in trouble and need our help. Elephant numbers have dropped by 62% over the last decade, and they could be mostly extinct by the end of the next decade. An estimated 100 African elephants are killed each day by poachers seeking ivory, meat and body parts, leaving only 400,000 remaining. An insatiable lust for ivory products in the Asian market makes the illegal ivory trade extremely profitable, and has led to the slaughter of tens of thousands of African elephants.

The Asian elephant, whose habitat ranges over 13 countries across Asia, is an endangered species with less than 40,000 remaining worldwide – less than a tenth of the African elephant population. Wild Asian elephants suffer severe habitat loss in some of the most densely human-populated regions on the planet. Their traditional territories and migration routes have been fragmented by development, highways and industrial mono-crops such as palm oil and rubber tree plantations, which has destroyed millions of hectares of forest ecosystems. With no access to their natural habitat, elephants are forced into deadly confrontations with humans where neither species wins.

To find out more about what you can do to help this wonderful, ancient and majestic animal, please click the World Elephant Day logo:

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