I have just been told informed that my artwork Behold! has been selected by the SAA (Society for All Artists) to be shown on Saturday, 22 August 2020 as part of their new Saturday Showcase campaign, where they pick a selection of images from their members to share. I am very excited by this as the SAA takes submissions from all over the UK and overseas so I am proud to be in such good company!
I love elephants but as their eyes are so small in relation to their body size they are hard to see. I wanted to capture the living character of these endangered animals by giving a glimpse of something so few of us ever see, the life and intelligence of these creatures.
This painting is done in pure coloured pencil on pastelmat paper. It took close to a month to complete ( I work very slowly!) and is built up of many thin layers of pigment to give smooth gradations of colour. Very sharp pencils are used to add the tiny details to the pupil and give the fine hair of the eyelashes.
The original reference is by Scotch Macaskill with kind permission