Exploring Dora - Siberian Lynx 10 X 8 Colored Pencil on Suede Mat Board
At the end of August I had a simply awesome experience at The Triple D Game Farm and Preserve in Kalispell, MT. The photography and animal portrait workshop with Gemma Gylling, CPSA, a great colored pencil artist known for very moving animal portraits, didn't disappoint. For more of her work go to:
Glassgems Studio
Triple D Game Farm is a great photographers resource for shooting wild animals in their natural setting, free of leashes, and cages. And the young ladies who are their handlers Heather and Lindsy are so very capable, brave and knowledgeable. Not only knowledgeable of these wonderful animals but of lighting, placement and just plain ole' "What makes a great photo"!
Day One: I had the most incredible first day, photographing an endangered Amur Leopard named Kupalo, and a shy female Siberian Lynx - Dora. Had someone told me I could shoot 965 photos in less than 3 hours with these animals I'd have laughed. We were at times within 6 ft of Kupalo, a 2 year old male about 90 lbs. of pure energy and developing predatory skills. Amur Leopards are as few as 30-40 in the wild and 300 in captivity. Heather who raised Kupalo from a cub, worked with him so gently and skillfully, allowing him to be the playful young man he is, providing us with some wonderful photos like the one below.
Dora was shy and so very elegant in comparison to Kupalo's raw energy and male curiosity. The finished CP portrait shown at the beginning of this post, was accomplished from a zoomed in photo I had taken on Day one. In the afternoons we worked with Gemma on the techniques she uses on suede mat board for capturing the fur on her project of a Mountain Lion. On day 3 we had the choice of following on with her project or moving to one of our own. I chose the later. And the above cp painting is the result. Once I'm sure it's finished I will spray it with fixative and then frame behind glass. Something I've been trying to get away with (framing behind glass) but needed for this surface. My hopes are that I will be able to create the same soft fur textures on my favorite Ampersand Pastelboard. So stay tuned for my further adventures in wildlife art.
I concluded the Montana experience with a couple days exploring Glacier National Park with my sister and her husband along with my hubby before moving on to Helena for a few days. And many many more landscape photos for future cp paintings. This is truly a wonderful area of the country and colorful too!
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