Behind The Scenes - Drawing a Snow Leopard

I have a passion for depicting threatened species. With so many dire warnings of environmental crisis it can be hard sometimes to look on the bright side. Yes, human impact is causing untold damage to the natural world. However, I wanted to be reminded that we can also make a positive difference. Among the many species we have pushed to the knife’s edge of survival, there are some we have pulled back. And so, I have embarked on a series titled New Hope.

The first of these is a drawing of a Snow Leopard. 68cm high x 47.3cm wide in Faber Castell Polychromos & Caran D’Ache Luminence pencils on 350gsm archival white pastel card, with acrylic painted background.

This video (link below) shows the creation of the largest drawing I have ever done, with many lessons learnt along the way. One of which is I cannot comfortably reach the top of the drawing unless rotating it (and that is something I baulk at despite it being a technique employed by many artists). Hence, this may stay as a landmark in my artistic career as I return to smaller works.

The art created this year have been on black backgrounds. This focuses attention on the subject. It allows for Chiaroscuro lighting, the balance of strong contrasts in an artwork. A look and feel that I love. Yet it has presented its own set of problems. When painting a black background with acrylic I can work my way to the lightest areas with impunity. Because acrylic is opaque the colour values are not affected the way they are in a drawing. In a drawing the background colour shines through the colour layers above. So, my colour values are darker.

I wanted to create bright highlights on an animal with light fur yet retain the deep black of the background. Conundrum. This artwork experimented with drawing on white card and using black acrylic paint on the background. It’s a success, but the texture of the pastel card did shred my paintbrush.

This piece depicts a young snow leopard against a black background. It is a message of hope that these magnificent animals can be pulled back from the black of oblivion.

The snow leopard roams mountainous terrain in central Asia and often comes into conflict with farmers and goat herders protecting their flocks. Added to this is the impact of climate change with shrinking habitat and rising temperatures. This wild cat is scattered sparsely and is declining over its huge range. In Bhutan and Mongolia however, conservation efforts have shown a viable population can be maintained.

Wildlife art can be a powerful way to create environmental awareness. For it is through connecting with emotion that people act. Perhaps in finding a balance between the needs of human and leopard we can coexist and prevent the tragedy of losing these animals forever. 

Superb quality Giclée prints of this artwork are available here.