Guest Post: Wildlife Art

BY WATERCOLOR ARTIST AMI DOBELLE

watercolor crab

I love taking inspiration for my paintings from the natural world, specifically animals. Some of the biggest questions people ask are: What are you painting now? How long does it take to paint one of your paintings? How do you do, what you do? What materials do you use?

When I am painting wildlife (or any painting in general), it has to start with some inspiration, idea, or image that gets me to start thinking in terms of a subject to paint. To gain inspiration and ideas, I will sometimes turn to Instagram. There are so many amazing travel and wildlife photographers that post some amazing photographs, it’s easy for me to find new ideas and be inspired. Lately, with everyone staying at home, I have turned to friends and family for inspiration by simply asking “What’s your favorite animal?” or throwing the question out on my Instagram page.

watercolor squirrel

When creating a painting, the amount of time it takes depends on the subject and size. Smaller paintings, like the chipmunk, where it’s a relatively small size, the painting is about 5 x 7 and there’s no background, it took me a little over an hour from start to finish. I found some great photos of chipmunks online to use as a reference and had those out to refer to when painting. Plus, watercolors are a fast medium in this case. The colors spread easily and smoothly without adding much detail except in the face. Other paintings can take hours over numerous days. The panda that I created; I painted every individual hair on it. That painting is 11 x 14 so larger and adding more details meant more time to invest in it.

watercolor panda

The medium that I seem to work with the most are watercolors. To be honest, I leaned more on watercolors because I felt they were the least expensive and can get the most for your money from them. A simple set with a brush included and some heavy paper is all you need. I do love acrylic paints as well, but I find that they can be more expensive for the paints and the canvases needed.

watercolor whale

The biggest piece of advice I can give to someone who wants to start painting from wildlife is to just start, then practice every day, even if you’re not feeling it. I should really listen to my own advice as life and work seem to take priority, but painting is my meditation. Time flies by. I could be sitting and painting and look up and two hours have passed. Painting helps me get in “the zone” and I always feel better after doing it, even if I’m not overly excited about the painting I just created. I like to think of painting as yoga. It is a practice, you can always improve, challenge yourself and anyone can do it without judgement.

I paint because I love nature and wildlife and I love to create. There is no better feeling in the world than having someone think something you created is beautiful. That gives me happiness and that’s why I paint.

*All paintings by Ami Dobelle

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Cairn Building and Stone Matching

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Spring Azure Butterfly