Animal And Wildlife Challenge - May 2025

[pcj]

Hello , I am the host for for May. I'm posting this early because we are under a
severe thunderstorm watch and we may lose our hydro !
It's not quite finished but I'll add to it later if our power is still on.
Cheers,
Patricia

Hello, and welcome to our monthly ANIMAL & WILDLIFE CHALLENGE.
On the first day of each month various photos and separate reference subject
will be provided,

Please choose from the photos or the reference subject provided or both
to create an artwork in any medium. Please note the reference subject is unrelated to
the photos and is there to provide another way of entering for those don't want to use the photos.

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 even beyond !

- 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 !


The reference subject for this month is...do a 5 minute gesture drawing of any animal or wildlife
to capture the gesture or action of the animal..this is a very quick drawing from 30 seconds to maximum 5 minutes solely to capture the action or pose of the animal. You can draw from life or use photos or memory. It must be a real animal not a fictional animal.

...............................................................................................................................................................................................................

Here are the photos

 

[pcj]

and here are some more photos.

 

[pcj]

and here are the final 3 photos.
Cheers,
Patricia

 

[pcj]

Hello Everyone,
Just making sure that people know that this is May’s challenge.
Cheers,
Patricia

 

[Jo Castillo]

Patricia, life in the way this month. I would love to paint the calf, great photo. I will try....

 

[pcj]

Thankyou so much for posting Jo I really appreciate it.

To give people more time, I'm going to extend this to the end of June - so this is now the May and June Challenge.

Cheers,
Patricia

 

[Sanlynn]

Thanks again for hosting, Patricia.
I finally sat down to play this afternoon. I chose this Sphynx cat or should I say part of it! Done in a craft paper notebook, 5x5”. Pencil sketch with pen and watercolour. Took about 2 hours.

 

[Grapes]

Sanlynn, your sphynx cat has so beautiful and intense eye and his skin looks like real cat's skin. Very nice textures. I like the form his head has.

 

[Joy]

Sandra, beautiful crop and painting. Great textures.

 

[pcj]

Sanlynn, Beautiful painting and his eye is just fantastic !
Cheers,
Patricia

 

[ams]

Sanlynn, great work on the Sphynx cat. I like the crop, it just makes in more dramatic.

Thanks Patricia for giving us a little more time.

 

[monarch-butterfly]

Thanks for hosting, Patricia. There are so many great photos I'd love to paint, but when I saw this sweet little calf, I just knew I had to choose him, lol. Are the photos ones you've taken yourself?
This is about 6 x 8 watercolor, with some white gouache added at the end.

 

[Joy]

Monarch, that is just beautiful! I am working on mine, albeit slowly, but I am not sure it will be posted. It is a very disappointing effort so far.

 

[monarch-butterfly]

Thank you, Joy! I'm looking forward to seeing yours when you get it finished. No worries if it isn't perfect. I like to think of these challenges as learning exercises.

Sanlynn, your cat's eye is very eye-catching!! LOL. I could see it as almost an abstract, hanging on a wall.

 

[pcj]

Monarch. Absolutely stunning ! His expression is lovely, everything is lovely ! In watercolour too, the most difficult medium !
The touches of gouache in the eyes and leading down then finishing with his magnificent snout...just stunning ,

To answer your question, the photos are not mine, They are copyright free photos
that I get from Pixabay.
Cheers,
Patricia

 

[Joy]

Apologies for this overworked mess, but at least I get a participation trophy!
This is 5 x 7 in a Canson XL sketch book, which I do not like, as I use too much water. It started out as Derwent Graphitint and ink, but the color s values were too pale, so I used Intense and really ruined it with too many layers on this cellulose paper. It was just working on it in bits and pieces due to other activities; that is why it is so late.

 

[pcj]

Very nice painting , so you get a very nice painting trophy and a participation trophy.
Cheers,
Patricia

 

[Joy]

Patricia, thank you for the kind words and for hosting!

 

[monarch-butterfly]

Joy, your cute little squirrel is lovely! You captured his paws and expression perfectly.

Patricia, thank you for your kind comments on my calf.