17 November, 2009

DEEP IN THOUGHT

I painted this lion in a mixed batch of mediums....acrylic,gel,soft dry pastel and water colours. his character flowed through as i painted.its framed now ready to exhibit. but whilst i have him here he watches me silently from my wall....almost in contemplation of something. roar was my favourite piece before i completed this one. what do you think?

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16 Comments

Ann 17 Nov 2009

Mandy, if I guess right, I think you've found a new favorite. I think it's fabulous!

I love his expression like he's thinking about something nice. His scruffy mane and colouring is perfect too. Ann

mandy thomas 17 Nov 2009

the white really shows up on the photo of it...maybe because thats gel and its lifted off the page.thanks for your input ann

chris newbrook 18 Nov 2009

Very impressive in lots of ways Mandy. I think using mixed media adds a very interesting quality of textures. I like the angle of his head and the naturalistic quality. As apposed to the way animals tend to be idealized and romanticised by artists.

It looks as if he's observing and contemplating us rather than the opposite. And the unsettling feeling of being so close to something so deadly, something we wouldnt be able to do in reality.

mandy thomas 18 Nov 2009

i do enjoy mixing textures to get alift off the page sort of 3d sometimes to accentuate parts if u get me. thing is when you take a photo of it ...it then makes the sticky out bits look really prominant lol eg the whiskers thanks for all input so far

mandy thomas 21 Nov 2009

ok i have mounted and framed this painting its up on exhibition now for sale. i do miss him and felt quite sad parting with him. do any of you feel like that sometimes when selling a piece of your art?

Cole McLester 21 Nov 2009

Mandy, great painting. It may sound silly but it looks like he is contemplating a belly rub to me, it has a very playful quality. Watching your art move to other hands at times can be hard. I think getting your artwork out of your personal space can help be a motivator to produce more. So fill the space that was created, empty it and fill it again.

mandy thomas 21 Nov 2009

cole ...i understand what you mean....but it end to cling onto things which makes it hard for me to let go x

Gail Caduff-Nash 11 Dec 2009

beautiful beautiful work, esp. the eyes. the angle makes me want to keep adjusting it and the color red is odd compared to the very realistic buff color mixed with it. but he looks like a very satisfied (sated?) lion and a great piece of work. yeah, i sure do understand letting one of your 'babies' go out into the world. i know where all of mine are and hope they have happy homes.

jim boehmer 11 Dec 2009

Wow Mandy! Great work. the tilt of the head does pit him in thought...thanx, Jim

mandy thomas 14 Dec 2009

thanks for the comments on this piece...its still my favourite out of my lion paintings.i now have my big cats in 2 exhibitions across swindon.the brunel gallery upstairs has 10 of my paintings now...this one draws the most attention.

Alan Berkman 08 Jan 2010

If ANYTHING, it seems like you put alot of work into his right eye (pupil, light spot, etc) but his left eye looks kind of ...neglected? Now I've never gotten close enough to a lion to study his eyes, but thats the only thing that bothered me abput this otherwise fantastic work.

kiddolucas lee 08 Jan 2010

Many times when we rely 'wholely'...on the given photo image..we could get into a high percentage of making minor error

a photoshot is still a photo....

a painting/illustration has to carry the artist 's eyes and thought of color dimensions

Its eye needs amendment as mentioned

Overall the fur needs " 35% tangerine make up" to bring out the LION SMELL

Kathleen Oliver 08 Jan 2010

This is stunning! Using mixed medias is wonderful. I love doing that.

Just gorgeous!! I love lions!!

mandy thomas 11 Jan 2010

wow some great feedback there thanks guys and gals xxx i cant alter it now its up on exhibition for sale in a gallery. i sort of know what you 2 mean about the eye but i worked on the other to bring you towards it from that angle...sounds odd i know but for me it sort of worked. i miss him terribly lol. i fell for him as soon as it was finished. got to make way for new ones though i have been told....'chasing snowballs' followed him, hope you all like it.again critiques are welcome....and happy new year to you all xxx

Thierry Reno 11 Jan 2010

He is great. I like the angle of his head too.

mandy thomas 11 Jan 2010

thanks thierry it is a different approach but i like it as he looks like he is in contemplation

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