Animal & Wildlife Challenge, August 2024

[Joy]

Since no one posted a challenge, I posted some pix. We've been very busy about the house - choosing and arranging for some improvements that are always more time intensive than one can anticipate. Could a mod please sticky this? I didn't see last month's challenge into well into the month, as it was buried.

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.

Theme - neutral colors.
Challenge - see how colorful you can render your subject!

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

Some photos are mine; others are from free sites.

 

[Christel]

Thanks Joy! You're a star!

 

[pcj]

I can no longer run the challenge. I am being treated for cancer.
I told a moderator last month.

Patricia

 

[Queen Bee]

Thank you for hosting. It is such a great selection. I wish I had time to do them all.

 

[Joy]

Christel, Deborah - I can’t wait to see what lovely art you will create! I, too, would like to do more, and only do a fraction of what I plan.

Patricia - Thanks ever so much for hosting the forum for three years! Your health and well-being is paramount. You definitely should not have to concern yourself with posting clarifications or pleading for hosts in the wee hours your time. Unfortunately, many members have ceased posting in any forum threads, both at CS and other sites.

 

[Grapes]

Joy, lovely photos, lots of expressive faces. Thank you for hosting! I try to paint this month.

 

[Joy]

Sirkka - I look forward to your paintings. We haven't seen an oil painting in the Animal Challenge for a bit. As a side note, we love Danish TV and watch foreign content almost exclusively.

 

[PaintBoss]

I’m thankful Joy that you have decided to host. (Yay!!!)

Patricia, I’m thankful that you have done so much, and it is understandable why now you need to take care of your health. I sincerely, hope and wish for the best in your cancer fight.

Onward with the animals! I’m not sure if I’ll have time this month to do this Joy, but if I can I will try to participate!

 

[Triduana]

For my part, I have been keeping an eye on these challenges and trying to ramp up participation. I missed the start of August because I’ve been very busy elsewhere – we all host, post and moderate in our spare time, and if there’s no spare time, things can easily get missed. I am grateful to Joy for stepping in and hosting: if she hadn’t maybe there wouldn’t have been an August challenge at all. I’ve stickied the thread (if anything anywhere needs stickied that isn’t, please just report the thread so the moderators can see it).

I very rarely take part in the challenge these days but that doesn’t mean I don’t care about it; it’s a valuable part of the forum – it gets a lot of attention and participation, sometimes less than others, but forum activity always ebbs and flows. There may be people who use the images and don’t post – who knows.

 

[Terri]

Thanks to everyone who does participate with these monthly challenges! It's a labor of love to keep up with everything, as we all can appreciate. Thanks to Patricia for being so diligent for the last three years - and please accept our best wishes for your health as you step back to attend to your treatment.

Great images, Joy! As PB said up there, onward with the animals!

 

[Vivien]

Patricia, Im so sorry to hear you are very unwell! Thank you so much for administrating these challenges all this time! We really appreciate all your great work which was involved with them. Look after yourself. xxx
Joy, Thank you for Hosting this August Challenge with such interesting ref photos!

 

[Joy]

Vivien - So wonderful to see you posting and hope you have time for a wee sketch!
Kay - You are so very busy with your job and we appreciate that you take time to help at CS.
Terri - Even labors of love can be frustrating at times, so your dedication is greatly appreciated.

Thanks ever so much to all the members that we still have participating in any of the threads. And apologies for the typos and greengrocer's apostrophes in the intro to the thread. I copied/pasted some content and forgot to proof it. I was just grateful that the pix all uploaded, as many had to be modified.

 

[pcj]

Viv - Thankyou so much. I was honoured and pleased to continue your wonderful challenge
Patricia

 

[PaintBoss]

OK, I did this little charcoal drawing. I had to do it in bed so I put a towel over me to catch all the charcoal dust! I was pretty relaxed about doing this little drawing and didn’t stick too closely to reference. The reason was it was hard for me to juggle my drawing board and draw and hold a reference on my phone. And setting my phone or ipad up on a side table was too hard to see. So I decided to not be too uptight about it. I can see where there’s things I should’ve done, like his nose is too wide, and ears maybe should have been even bigger! But I still think he is cute.
Approximately 5 x 7

 

[Grapes]

PaintBoss (Christine), so cute! Her eyes are looking at you so kindly! Well done!

 

[PaintBoss]

Thank you Moscatel.

 

[Terri]

That's just adorable. You really didn't need the reference- nailed it! Great work on the eyes.

 

[PaintBoss]

Thanks. I might have to start thinking about giving her a name she’s so cute. Lol

 

[Joy]

Christine- That is really enjoyable, especially the eyes. I also like the directional strokes and minimum necessary to get the impression of the fur. As you noted, the nose is a wee bit wide, but that does not distract from the overall impression.

FYI, "reveal day" was to be the 15th, as per previous months. It used to be the 20th, but it was moved up. I believe this is so some anticipation can build, and members are not influenced by others versions. My personal preference is to be more like the Watermedia Challenge, and encourage posting all month long. Moving forward, it could be up to the monthly host, unless that is a breach of protocol. It is wonderful and I am thrilled that we have wonderful sites like this and member participation in any thread.

 

[PaintBoss]

Oops, duly noted! Yes I was in the habit of the other thread. Thanks for your kind words.