update on tiger cub painting

Tiger cub painting is coming along nicely and now ive loosely blocked in the stripes on the cats hindquarters and tail.The paint is going on nice and loose using mainly short flats for a bit of spontaniety combined with a lush rigger for some of the longer fur.

heres a quick studio snapshot of my little tiger cub painting on the easel this morning.this is the first unrefined layer of oils and once ive finished the entire cat with one layer i'll go over and add some more details and refine here and there.once again i'm trying to work more quickly than is my norm using short flats in the main to try and encourage myself to loosen up a bit.

tiger cub painting update

apologies for the horribly distorted photo the stretched canvas is straight really.ive roughly blocked in the black areas on the tiger cubs face and started to add colour in the first layer of oils.the ears are completed and i'm working my way across and down the tigers face.

Here is the start of another oil on canvas whilst i wait for my tiger cub painting to dry.Again ive started with a loose background which also includes a little of my nemesis green.there is to be some nice lighting in this painting which ,i hope,will make my reasons for my choice of colours more obvious.The subject in this case is a lovely cheetah but for now its been put to one side to dry.

Another work on canvas

After completing my last oil painting on a canvas for the first time i realised how much i enjoyed the feel of painting on canvas and how much it felt like a 'real' artist to be daubing on this most traditional of supports.I thought i would continue painting in the same vein for the time being as completing my last painting relatively quickly and employing slightly looser techniques was very enjoyable and i want to prove to myself that it wasnt just a 'one-off' success.Trying to curb my immediate instincts to tighten up on details and add more and more to a piece is the hardest task and so once more ive gone loose with this piece and completed background colouration and a little foreground detail in one sitting,having already toned the canvas with a little burnt umber beforehand in those areas and left it to dry.I'm now going to put this to one side to dry thoroughly for a couple of days before proceeding with the main subject,which in this instance is a delightful tiger cub.i have several projects in there early stages right now and at the moment am still using ready-stretched canvases as i get to grips with it,however if i finish all those ive started to my satisfaction i plan to invest in some rolled canvas and make my life easier by making stretched canvases to fit my layout drawings rather than the other way around as they are now.ive never been one for drawing or painting to a size and find that element of painting on pre-stretched canvases very difficult to get used to.it was never really a problem on paper or on boards which i always cut and prepared according to projects already roughed out and so i'm looking forward to learning a new skill,that of stretching a canvas.

New Limited edition print releases

                                                             Touchdown-Barn owl

                                                               Hanging out- Leopard

 Evening light-Hare

 

Today see's the launch by my publishers Collier and Dobson ltd of three new limited edition print reproductions from my original oil paintings.Each one printed onto canvas and then bonded to board is hand signed and numbered by me and the edition is limited to 195 copies worlwide.
For further details check out the website at www.clivemeredith.co.uk

Snow Leopard cub 16" x 20" oil on canvas

Completed this painting this morning.i decided to make use of a canvas for this piece as ive wanted to try and adopt a slightly looser approach to painting,making more use of the texture of the support and brush strokes.i really enjoyed my first time using canvas and found it quite liberating compared to a board.ive put it to one side now to dry and will be  resisting the temptation to go back in and add any more detail.hoping to do some more works on canvas,just hope my publishers and clients old and new will like the new approach.

here's a quick update on where my snow leopard cub painting is at this morning as i prepare for another day in the studio.as i sit here in my studio in front of the screen with my morning bowl of fruit porridge and the first in a steady stream of cups of tea i'm wondering how much i'll acccomplish today as normal service has resumed in the UK and its absolutely pouring with rain and very dark outside.looks like the daylight bulbs will be burning all day here again!