Animal And Wildlife Challenge December 2023

[joe1It]

Hello, and welcome to the December 2023 ANIMAL & WILDLIFE CHALLENGE.

On the first day of each month various photos and a reference subject
will be provided,

Please choose from the photos or the reference subject provided or both
to create an artwork in any medium.

You can use the photo’s or reference subject to create any kind of artwork that you like .

Please use only the photo’s or the reference subject provided.

Please post your artwork on the 20th day of the month

- AND , if you wish, any WIP [works in progress] photo’s that you might have
taken while you were doing your artwork.
- AND, if you wish, any comments about it.

Please don’t post your artwork until the 15th day of the month [this is the ‘reveal’ day]

Please don't tell us whether you chose a photo or reference subject before the 15th !!

You can continue to post your artwork from the 15th until the end of the month.


We hope you enjoy the challenge, we're looking forward to seeing you !
This month's REFERENCE SUBJECT is 'SOMETHING RUNNING'
I am the host for this month.
Cheers,
Joe
Here are the first ten photo's. All reference from Pexels

First 3 from Ellie Burgin on Pexels

 

[joe1It]

next 13 reference ,I hope there are some to your liking among the photos

 

[pcj]

Here are the updated instructions for the challenge [we have changed the reveal date to the 15th]

UPDATED INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE ANIMAL AND WILDLIFE CHALLENGE

Hello, and welcome to our monthly ANIMAL & WILDLIFE CHALLENGE.

On the first day of each month various photos and a reference subject
will be provided,

Please choose from the photos or the reference subject provided or both
to create an artwork in any medium.

You can use the photo’s or reference subject to create any kind of artwork that you like .

Please use only the photo’s or the reference subject provided.

Please post your artwork starting on the 15th day of the month [This is the 'Reveal Day ]
You can continue to post your artwork from the 15th until the end of the month.

- AND , if you wish, any WIP [works in progress] photo’s that you might have
taken while you were doing your artwork and any comments about it.

We hope you enjoy the challenge, we're looking forward to seeing you !

 

[pcj]

Beautiful photo's Joe. Thankyou very much for hosting this month.
Cheers,
Patricia

 

[ams]

Nice photos to choose from this month.

Thanks for hosting Joe.

 

[Joy]

Great, Joe! Thanks for hosting.

 

[joe1It]

This month's REFERENCE SUBJECT is' SOMETHING THAT JUMPS'
Thank you all, happy that you like the photos, the subject reference of the month is something that jumps out
I forgot to choose one and then modify that part with a new subject reference.
I wrote it here that I can't edit after a few minutes or hours.
Greetings

 

[Vivien]

Thanks for all the great photos Joe!

 

[KreativeK]

These are all so good!

 

[ams]

I have one finished. I will probably do others before the end of the month.

Thanks for hosting Joe.

Ink and watercolor in XL Mixed Media sketchbook, about 5" x 5".

 

[Vivien]

Anne - Oh well done in getting one finished and he's gorgeous! I have nothing completed yet.

Joe, Patricia, Anne and all members - This is a crazy, busy, time for us in New Zealand, leading up to Christmas, then our big Summer Holiday Season. NZ used to close completely down for the Christmas/Holiday Summer break but now shops etc do open after Christmas Day but most people take the Summer Holiday off. Its usually time to go to the beach, rivers or NZ's native forests walks or somewhere on holiday! Here's hoping for beautiful Summer weather for Jan/Feb holiday season. Merry Christmas to all, and a peaceful, happy, and healthy New Year!

 

[ams]

Thanks Vivien. It's a busy time here too but completely different. Enjoy your Christmas/Holiday Summer break.

 

[Joy]

Lovely, Anne. I think that subject will be very popular.

I started one, then had to start over, and have been involved with a bathroom remodel that was just finished a few days ago. Jerry is mopping the floor as I type this. We were going to skip Xmas decorating, but got the tree up yesterday. We got back from a 14 day trip late November, and have been uber busy ever since.

Vivien, what dates are the summer holidays? I would imagine the beaches are quite crowded and hot. Does it get as hot as Australia? I burn readily, so I am not one for sunning myself or to just hang out on the beach. Our recent trip was to the Southern Caribbean (several islands), which was quite hot and humid. I enjoyed what I saw, but I could never live there. I was thrilled to snorkel with the sea turtles and beautiful fish.

 

[Vivien]

Joy - As New Zealand and Australia are in the Southern Hemisphere, our Seasons are completely opposite to the Northern Hemisphere. So when you are having Winter...we are in Summer. And Summer temps can be very hot, in NZ, but not as hot as Australia. Climate Change is affecting us badly in NZ with unseasonal floods in the North Island and really strange unpredictable wet weather when we should be getting Summer hot days!

 

[joe1It]

Anne,Wonderful job.

my attempt

 

[Joy]

Vivien, Thanks for the speedy reply. I do realize the hemispheres have different seasons, and am glad it does not get oppressively hot there. In the mountains of Western PA, we used to get much harsher winters. The last 10-15 years we have not had very much snow or severe cold. Oddly enough, this past summer (about June-September) was relatively "cool", even though many parts of the US were experiencing extreme heat and drought. This is the first summer since we lived in our home, purchased in 1991, that we did not need to put in our bedroom window AC.

Joe, good job on the cats. That is a hard pose to get right.

 

[Christel]

Great references, thanks Joe!
Here are 2 paintings on A4

I started off with ac, then added cp

 

[joe1It]

Christel, formidable job

 

[ams]

Christel, these are beautiful (as usual). I especially love the squirrel.

 

[Joy]

Christel, wonderful! The squirrel looks just like the ones I see daily.