Leisure Painter - UK (2019 - Summer)

http://www.painters-online.co.uk SUMMER 2019 45

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o far in this series we have worked

up on-the-spot bird and reptile

sketches into watercolour paintings

back in the studio. Now it is the turn

of mammals to take centre stage. I left

mammals until last, because often they

are our first choice.

Mammals are often iconic subjects;

think of the panda. They inspire awe;

consider the tiger. They are also our close

cousins – a few minutes observing the

great apes or chimpanzees can leave you

pondering whether they should be in a

zoo and whether their behaviour is more

civilised than the visitors.

I was torn about a subject to choose,

but, in the end, I chose the llama. They

make me laugh and ever since I went

backpacking in Peru many moons ago,

I have had a soft spot for these grumpy

beasts.

The task

Eyes usually play a key role in the success

of any mammal portrait. We are drawn to

them first and, given how bulbous llama’s

eyes are, I knew I needed to do them

justice. As they make or break the portrait,

I usually begin with them so, if they don’t

work, I have not wasted a long time on

a failed painting.

My second consideration was the colour

palette. I did not want to go too wild, but

I did want a striking portrait. I often use

the technique of value-colour switching,

by which I mean that as long as the tone

or value of the paint is right, the actual

hue does not really matter. I therefore

planned to swap some of the lighter black

values for blue, to make the painting

livelier. If you struggle to see tone, try

to work from a black-and-white image.

My third consideration was that of

texture. Llamas are pretty hairy so soft

edges played an important role in

achieving a likeness. I certainly didn’t

want to be painting every hair, just to

gain the impression of hairiness.

The following painting I completed

using the reference. Although I have

given you the colours I used, I hope you

will choose your own palette to interpret

and capture this lovely animal. LP t

Part 6 Liz Chadertonconcludes her series on sketching animals from

life with tips and techniques for painting a characterful llama

Animals from life

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

nHow to paint successfully

from sketches

nHow to observe your subject

nFollow a step-by-step

watercolour process

Watercolour

Llama, watercolour, 13^3 ⁄ 4 x 133 ⁄ 4 in. (35x35cm). This is an alternative llama portrait to the

demonstration painting over the page. It was painted in the same way, but using different colours.

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Here are some of the sketches I completed on location at ZSL London Zoo

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