Today I wanted to post the start of this wolf painting. I haven't actually finished it yet, but its progressing so quickly I'd like to share what I have so far. As I mentioned I had a strong, clear vision of what this piece would look like, so I went straight for the canvas. Normally, on a painting of this size, 24 x 36", I would have done preliminary sketches to determine placement of the wolf figure and also to map out an overall composition. All I can say is, I already knew it would work, so I dove right in!
Here is the roughed in sketch.
I used my knowledge of dogs to get the anatomy of the figure close, then I spent about 2 hours pouring over images of wolves, to study their unique characteristics, specifically their feet, which are much larger then most canines.
Now I've blocked in most of the color and values.
This particular scene is based on my first wolf sighting, which happened a few years ago on the Montana, Idaho border. Later I'll show you the finish of this painting and tell you about my first impressions on seeing this controversial animal in the wild.
