Thursday, June 21, 2007

Nocturnal



Here is the completed pastel portrait of a sleeping fox. I posted the work-in-progress photo yesterday. After working diligently this morning, I feel like the piece is completed.

This portrait is a bit different, in the fact that it is dark, shadowy, cuddly, yet somewhat creepy. I came across this little guy at the zoo, sleeping under a warm heat lamp. He looked so comfortable and content. When I brought the reference photo into Photoshop and played around with the contrast, I noticed that the photo took on a night-vision effect.

The idea for this portrait was born from the altered reference. I imagined a person camping in the deep woods. The sun is setting and the person decides to take an evening hike to view wildlife. Guided by only a flashlight, the person shines the light on a set of rocks. The light rests on a sleeping fox. This is the moment captured in the picture. Of course, a true fox would be just waking as the sun set. This picture would have to convey early evening, as foxes are nocturnal animals.

The portrait is 11x14" landscape. It is drawn in soft pastels on white, smooth vellum paper.

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