How I Begin A Wildlife Painting

Over the years, as a wildlife artist and waterfowl artist, I’ve had people ask how I begin a wildlife painting, so I decided to start this month out with an article about the process I use to begin a new wildlife painting. As I began writing, I soon realized that the content was much too long for one session so I decided to break it up into six distinct parts. In this series I will begin by describing how I go about creating the location for the painting. I consider this the most important step in the process because it lays the groundwork for all the steps that follow. After all the design elements have been chosen for the painting, the next article will deal with how I take those elements and arrange them into the composition.

Later I will detail how I select the wildlife subjects that will appear in the piece. I will then move on to selecting the color scheme for the painting. The last step in preparation for the painting is to choose the materials that I will use in the painting.

At the end I will post a summary of all that I’ve discussed to kind of recap the whole process. So if you’ve ever looked at a painting and wondered how the artist came up with the idea, these articles will show you how I go about it. I’m sure every artist has their own way of doing things, but this is how I do it. So lets get started.

Until next time, keep your brushes clean, your colors pure, and as always, thanks for stopping by the North Forty.

Regards,

Thank you.