40 artistMarch 2021 http://www.painters-online.co.uk
ANIMALS IN PAINTINGS
A
few years ago, my little
Australian cattle dog, Sadie,
experienced rapid onset
glaucoma. In a matter of hours
she was blinded and in considerable
pain. Our veterinarian said the only
way to treat her pain was to remove her
eyes. I wanted her out of pain but was
grief stricken at the thought of never
again being able to look into those
beautiful brown eyes. As she underwent
surgery, I worked out some of my own
pain by creating a sketch of a man and
his dog. The human fi gure consists
of a shadowy shape whose trusty
companion sits beside him, bright and
eager and hopeful, as dogs so often do.
Although my own dog was in surgery,
depicting a happy canine spirit next to
the shrouded human fi gure lifted my
spirits and offered me comfort that all
would be okay. Sadie recovered and
moves about in the world easily and
Add animals to create
a narrative
Adding animals to your watercolour paintings can bring life and joy, or even
whimsy, to the work and create a more human story, says Steve Griggs
without pain. I realised later it wasn’t
Sadie’s eyes that let me understand
her feelings. Her bodily movements
and postures expressed all I needed to
know.Shapes into forms
Including animals in my paintings is one
way that I try to instill a bit of the life,
joy or whimsy they offer into our day-to-day lives. How often do we walk down
a city street or through a park and see
a human walking a dog, only to fi nd the
focus of our attention moving from the
human to the animal. Maybe we make
eye contact with the walker. Perhaps we
offer a smile. After that, however, almost
everyone notices the happy gait, lifted
appreciative tail, or contented, lolled
out tongue of a dog on a walk.
In the same way I paint shapes into
forms that read as human fi gures, I also
paint shapes into forms that read as
dogs, cats, or other animals. Animals
can be tricky. The shapes, movements
and animation are different from the
human fi gure and can require a bit more
care to capture. I follow a number of
steps in order to capture the mood or
story of animals. Sometimes I include
only one animal but other times I
include several, depending on the
scene.Sadie Watch Out Trout, watercolour on
paper, 12 3 9in (30.5 3 23cm)p Reel It In, watercolour on paper,
93 12in (23 3 30.5cm)