Rhinos

The last meeting of Avon Valley Artists had as the subject `Animals'.  I selected a photograph of two Rhinoceros - probably mother and son (or daughter) but I can't be sure of this. The composition appealed to me, especially the head of the larger animal. 

`Rhinos' 18" x 12" Fabriano Artistico Extra White 140lb (300gsm) Not

I first made a careful drawing using a Pentel 205 2B Size 05 mechanical pencil. Although careful this was not over detailed. As can be seen in the photographs above I began by painting the head of the larger animal, starting with the horn and working across. I then painted the smaller one. There was a limited amount of over painting, particularly with respect to the darks, and I did a little more work on the rear leg of the smaller animal as Yvonne pointed out it was light by comparison with the adjacent darks. The background colours are Hansa Yellow Medium (Daniel Smith PY97) and Cobalt Teal Blue - I love this colour!

The main colours used were Quinacridone Gold (Daniel Smith PO49), Quinacridone Burnt Orange (Daniel Smith PO48), Raw Sienna, Raw Umber, Moonglow (Daniel Smith), Cobalt Teal Blue (Daniel Smith PG50) with the darks mixed from various combinations of Moonglow, Ultramarine and either Burnt Sienna or Burnt Umber. There is a little Ivory Black (Maimeri) in the eyes and a couple of other places. The Daniel Smith Burnt Orange is the same pigment (PO48) as the Graham Quinacridone Rust. I think it a little redder.

Brushes used were the Escoda and Isabey Kolinsky retractables sizes 4 to 10. Overall I am quite pleased with this one.