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donald

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Born to be Wild

Journal Entry: Fri Nov 9, 2007, 4:42 AM

For best results please view this journal with FireFox

This is an upgrade of an earlier post with some new developments

Many of my wildlife images have been resubmitted. You now see them much clearer & larger. I have enhanced the images to be as close to the originals as possible. Please enjoy
(sorry about the soft watermark - I guess you can't be too careful)

For an easy reference to my gallery, please now see my Shout Board
[link]

Born to be Wild

This journal entry focuses on my wildlife art. First off, I need to establish that I am not just a wildlife artist, but have interests in many different aspects of 'ART'. (Please refer to my other journals)

Wildlife has been one of my passions for many years.
As such, I have recorded this subject in various mediums; oil, acrylic & watercolour being the most prominent. Many appreciators of wildlife art tend to find disappointment in the available market. Either the proportions are incorrect, the colours don't reflect the African setting, the compositions are unbelievable and so on. Over a long established career in this field I have come to the following conclusion:
Either wildlife should be recorded in abstract composition - which has its own set of interpretation, or when the subject is the main focus of the piece it should be recorded with accuracy and precision. Of course ones personal style defines you as an artist aswell.

Acrylic:

When I first started to do large format paintings (about 80cm by 1meter - metric) these were predominantly done in acrylic. I don't really know why I used this medium because it just takes forever on a canvas this size. Perhaps I like punishing myself ?

Because acrylics dry very quickly, it is possible however to gain fine detail, specifically in the hair of certain animals (there is no blending of colours) My approach was similar to that of photoshop - working one layer of colour over the next. I found these pieces somewhat exhausting. Approximate time frame 3-4 weeks.

Watercolour:

They say that the medium of watercolour is one of the hardest to master. I guess this is true in the speedy rendering that is required. The colours also tend to run sporadically so you kind of have to go with the flow. If you make a mistake, 9 times out of 10 you cannot fix it - unlike in other mediums.

Chalk Pastel:

Pastels can also be tricky, more so I find than watercolour. I guess this is because things can tend to get somewhat messy - you have to be so careful not to smudge your page (unless intentional) I prefer chalk pastels to oil pastels. Again I guess I enjoy the punishment. Even once complete the work is not entirely safe until sealed with a fixative (I like to use a good hairspray - I find it works better) The great thing about pastel is that you can choose your background colour paper to enhance the mood of the piece. The darker the background the more dramatic the contrasts.

Oil:

Oils are currently my favourite medium. I love the way you can blend and manipulate colours. I can't believe that I discovered oils so late in life (my early 30's to be exact) For some reason I was always afraid of it, which doesn't make a whole lot of sense when I am one of those artists that is eager to experiment in different mediums. I don't really have a specific approach to my work other than I just to do what makes sense to me. I'm sure many an art teacher would shoot me down if they saw my methods

, but I will say this - I feel that a painting does not speak to the viewer if it has no soul - it merely becomes a pretty picture. I have taken great care over the years to also impart emotion into these works. In so doing, one could say that I have imparted some of myself into each piece. In fact specific pieces reflect a particular time in my life.

Mixed Media:

Other applications over the years have included work on leather and stone. The first piece represented here was initially done on leather. The rest of the process included the photo and then of course creating a mood in photoshop. The second is a work done on slate stone, which is reminiscent of early such works done in caves by bushmen.

I have focussed this edition of specials on the same theme - Wildlife in traditional & other media. (some of them are Anthro-Art, but I thought I would include them in this selection anyway) Please enjoy

Please stay tuned for the next journal entry, which will most likely feature something completely different...

Clubs

Proud Supporter of:

My print donation

COPYRIGHT NOTICE ©
Respectfully DO NOT use anything from my gallery for blogs, websites, myspace, face book, banners, designs, posters, cd's, books etc WITHOUT my written approval. My work is NOT stock
If you see my work being used, please e-mail me - bagend@iafrica.com
Please respect copyrights.

10 Comments

Devious Comments

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~HOULY1970 Nov 9, 2007, 5:52:43 AM

Thank you for the feature Donald. I'm honored.

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I've been doing a lot of abstract painting lately. Extremely abstract. No brush, no paint, no canvas. I just think about it.

=gureiduson Nov 9, 2007, 9:41:23 AM

Hey, thanks a lot for the featured man!

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See ya!

*Snow-Owl Nov 9, 2007, 10:50:57 AM

Thank you so much!

I'm truly honoured to be featured amongst all these beautiful artworks.

~Skoane Nov 9, 2007, 8:41:15 PM

Thank you very much for the feature, I am honored...you are such a fantastic artist!!

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You are more than welcome to visit my gallery. [link]

*donaldsart Nov 10, 2007, 5:00:34 AM

My pleasure
I enjoy the texture & tonal value of the piece

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Visit my Journal [link]

*donaldsart Nov 10, 2007, 5:03:12 AM

My pleasure
the cartoon of the monkey & leopard has great energy & movement

--
Visit my Journal [link]

*donaldsart Nov 10, 2007, 5:05:34 AM

No problem
The contrast value on this artwork is very striking
well done

--
Visit my Journal [link]

*donaldsart Nov 10, 2007, 5:08:42 AM

Thank you & my pleasure
The results achieved from just a black pen are quite impressive.
It is a remarkable piece

--
Visit my Journal [link]

~Skoane Nov 10, 2007, 10:10:42 AM

You are welcome and thank you!!

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You are more than welcome to visit my gallery. [link]

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Journal History

Mar 17, 2009 Orange/3rd DD & Thanks
Mar 14, 2008 Reflections - part 3 Beyond Horizons
Nov 9, 2007 Born to be Wild
Sep 6, 2007 Staying Tooned
Jul 16, 2007 Not Concrete & my Specials
Feb 12, 2007 Reflections (part two) The Face of Africa
Jan 15, 2007 Reflections (part one) Vilanculos

Can art change the world ?

86%

86 deviants said Yes

8 deviants said No

6 deviants said It makes no difference

1 comment, Previous Polls

Gallery/Journal Index

Born to be Wild

An introduction to my
WILDLIFE ART JOURNAL[link]

REFLECTIONS (My African Photo Journal)

Poverty & Paradise Journal[link]

The Face of Africa Journal[link]

Beyond HorizonsJournal[link]

• there is still 1 more journal entry to follow in this series

Not Concrete

An introduction to my
ABSTRACT ART Journal[link]

Staying Tooned

An introduction to my
CARTOON Journal[link]

Private Commissions
bagend@iafrica.com

"Don't forget the scraps"

Shoutbox

~tanisha-dreamer: Amazing work... Hope that in the future I might be as good as you.
Sat Oct 4, 2008, 2:28 PM
=toonrama: i love your journals and posts.. and your polls...
Mon May 19, 2008, 4:19 AM
~fangdracona: Hey your artwork is amazing Africa rules love the cheetah pictures my favorite animal.
Wed Jan 16, 2008, 5:54 PM
*donaldsart: and to you - all the best for 2007
Thu Dec 14, 2006, 10:41 PM
~linwe-calmcacil: (I was typing and hit enter instead of shift...) what I was going to say was, as its the Silly Season, Merry Christmas
Thu Dec 14, 2006, 6:27 AM
~linwe-calmcacil: as its the s
Thu Dec 14, 2006, 6:26 AM