I have to say, I’m rather pleased with this. It doesn’t look much like a Koala – the eye is too big for the size of the head – more of a rat or squirrel with long hairy ears, but the loose style, especially for an animal, is a new achievement for me. The beast, whatever it is, looks alive! I’d never have got here if it hadn’t been for the experimentation I’ve been doing lately. My thanks to Mike Wildridge and Jean Haines.
I started with the eye and sighted the nose from there. A little modelling to join them up, just light spots of colour whisked away by wetted brush. Next I tried to define the shape of the head at the top, again whisking the rather darker paint away following the fall of the hair on the ears. I’ve lost his chin (Hazel Soan: form first then texture, why don’t I remember?) and needed to resort to Opaque White to find his ruff, but it is certainly worth another go.
This is an excellent example of my new mantra, “If you want to paint loosely, you must learn to draw accurately”!
Yes, it is rather a “knowing” eye. Given the reputation of koalas for not being cuddly this would be a definite warning off! So it is a good animal interpretation if not exactly what you had wanted.
He’s certainly got his beady eye on us!