"Adventuring," Daily Painting #6

"Adventuring," Available (Click Here), 5" by 7," oils on panel

Adventuring Elephant Calf

I was sifting through animal photos when I came upon this exclamation of verve waiting to be painted. This elephant calf was photographed at the Wild Animal Park (Now called the San Diego Safari Park, though I refuse to call it by its new name– it was called the Wild Animal Park when I was a child and since it evokes a connection with animal crackers that I used to call wild animal crackers I will not give it up.).

There have been a lot of baby elephants at the park of late and I have never seen so many antics. This little one was trumpeting as he ran from one group of elephants to another. Most of our visit he hung out with with two "teenage" elephants prodding them playfully.

Fluid Form

I was pleased to practice portraying fluid natural movement in this little painting. I think I captured the feel well, though in the past I know I would have struggled with it. Doing this well quickly is a moment that lets me know that all the time I have put into my art has made a difference.

What a different sort of anatomy an elephant has, I have only ever sketched them before from life at the Wild Animal Park so getting into more of the nuances of their form was intriguing. The one bit of anatomy that I found most unusual is the way extra flesh sits around their legs as they move.

Animals

I'm seeing these daily paintings as a good place to often break out the hundreds if not thousands of reference photos I've collected from my ventures to the Wild Animal Park and Zoo. 'Tis one of my favorite places in the world.