Tiger in Acrylic

This Jungle Cat is nearly life sized and painted on an A1 sized canvas board. I am, sort of, happy with the result even though I was lazy and did not put in enough details.

I think tigers are the most beautiful creatures in the big cat family. They look so adorable that you just want to hug them.

Just has a random thought!

First caveman to ever see a tiger:

Caveman: OOOOh such a cute kitty! Let me give you a hug!
Tiger:  Hmm ...Tempting but  I just ate!  

:D

William Blake wrote those immortal lines in praise of this cat:


TIGER, tiger, burning bright
In the forests of the night,
What immortal hand or eye
Could frame thy fearful symmetry?
In what distant deeps or skies
   
Burnt the fire of thine eyes?
On what wings dare he aspire?
What the hand dare seize the fire?
And what shoulder and what art
Could twist the sinews of thy heart?

And when thy heart began to beat,
What dread hand and what dread feet?
What the hammer? what the chain?
In what furnace was thy brain?
What the anvil? What dread grasp
Dare its deadly terrors clasp?
When the stars threw down their spears,
And water'd heaven with their tears,
Did He smile His work to see?
Did He who made the lamb make thee?
Tiger, tiger, burning bright
In the forests of the night,
What immortal hand or eye
Dare frame thy fearful symmetry?

Acrylic Painting

Most of my artwork till now has been oil pastels with a little bit of pencil work. I've tried oil pastels on paper (several gsm weights), canvas and mounted boards with varying results and though it has proven to be a versatile medium, of late, I've been getting a bit restless with it.

I tried watercolours, ever so briefly, but found them cumbersome and myself extremely clumsy with them.  Watercolour pencils worked a bit better for me but required too much effort and mundane labour.

I realised that the thing I loved most about oil-pastels was that I could use my hands (palms and fingers both) to coax the colours in whatever way I wanted. I could spread the medium with wild abandon and still be able to regain control later and focus the painting.

This was clearly something pencils and watercolours just didn't do too well.

I shied away from oil's proper simply for the kind of set-up and preparation  needed to get started and the amount o technical knowledge that went into rudimentary things like colour mixing. It was while I was exploring oils that I stumbled upon acrylics.

I always thought of acrylics as a medium for use with cloth or craft but discovered that it is a painting medium fast growing in popularity. The paints are very easy to handle and dry fast. They require just water as a thinner and can be used on almost any kind of surface.

These paints work well in layers and can easily be removed for correction. Also I found a company that makes these paints with non-toxic materials that are safe to use with your hands.

My first experiment with the medium was a disaster though it helped me learn a lot about how it behaves. I'm now working on my second piece which is progressing well and will be posted here soon.

Don't get me wrong, I will still be painting with oil-pastels and very much love working with them but you should be seeing more acrylic work on this blog soon :)