Painting has always been an interest of mine. I had a keen development of this at school. I unfortunately then hadn’t done much since leaving. This painting of a Lion was my first in five or six years. I usually paint human portraits but wanted to reintroduce myself with something different.
Inspired by several front-on animal portraits, I decided the colours of a lion were ideal for this. The idea was there for a long time, forcing myself eventually to start. Based on a photo found online, I developed the image on a large square canvas.
Painting fail
Initially, I spent several days on the painting only to start over. The proportions were all wrong, particularly the eyes which are vital to any portrait. I questioned doing this at the time; I’m glad I did now. I must have been very rusty, making sure to take my time on the second go.
Improvements
Second time around, I was more confident with both the proportions and details. Using acrylic paints, I wanted the image to be bold and intense. I decided to add in metallic gold which reflects depending on which angle the paintings viewed; working particularly well on the eyes, bringing an intensity to them.
Conclusion
After a week’s worth of time spent on the painting, I am still pleased with the final results to this day. I haven’t done as much painting since however it helped remind me how much I enjoy painting but not allowing it to become a chore. My future work will be when I have a desire to paint something rather than forcing myself.
I have several ideas about what/who to paint next, along with several thoughts about what I want to portray, even if not fully formed yet. Watch this space!
Here is my painting of my friend Busola. You can also look at some of my other web, graphic or photography projects.