Latest Painting - Lemurs

I like painting animals and birds, and last week at an AVA Summer session I decided to paint some Lemurs, from a guide photo downloaded from the Web. Lemurs are mainly quite small animals native to the large island of Madagascar, in fact they are found nowhere else. According to a recent BBC programme there are 106 species and all are in the endangered category. Because of their appearance, which might be called `cute', they are a favourite of many and the highly popular animated children's film `Madagascar' , which most grandparents have probably seen, featured them heavily, undoubtedly adding to their popularity. The problem in Madagascar, as in many other poor countries, is the low standard of living of the bulk of the population, and in order to improve this deforestation , which reduces the Lemurs habitat, is being practiced on a large scale, in order to increase farming area. This is a very difficult problem because, in general, indigenous people see animals as competing with them for scarce resources and getting them to conserve both the animals and the environment is difficult when survival is their main interest. It would be tragic if they were to disappear.

The guide photo

First a loose drawing, quite lightly drawn

Just the main details

About two thirds of the way through

Mother & Child Lemurs - 16" x 12" Centenaire (Great Art own brand). 140lb (300gsm) not

I think the eyes were the key so I took as much trouble as I'm capable of using the Isabey Kolinsky travel brush Size 6. As I've said before, although listed as a 6, this brush is much slimmer than a normal six. 

Colours included Cerulean Blue, Raw Umber, Ivory Black, Transparent Brown (Schminke) and the eye colour (I think) was Quinacridone Coral with perhaps a slight tweak with another red-orange colour. Greens were Sap Green, Green-Gold and Apatite Green.

Brushes were primarily the Isabey and an Escoda travel brush size 8.