Lord Derby Eland

After my failed landscape attempt I returned to a subject I usually have success with, hooved animals. I rely heavily on photos shared by others who allow artists to use them for paintings, especially for exotic animals. I love where I live, but the nearest eland is a days drive away, if they have any at the Denver Zoo. For those who aren't familiar with the eland, it is the largest antelope, much like the moose is the largest deer. The male Lord Derby Eland can be almost 6 feet tall at the withers and weigh 2,200 lbs! That is the size of a large bull of the bovine variety. In some parts of the world elands have been somewhat domesticated for both meat and milk, as they can thrive on forage that cattle can not do well on.

Here is the original reference photo, provided by salsolastock.deviantart.com:





To get my crop I set my cropping tool for a square, since that is the format of the painting I want to do, and move the square around until I get something that looks good to me. I try to find something interesting with a strong design element including both the subject and negative spaces.

Here is the painting, in progress and finished:

SOLD

This painting sold to someone on the artist website WetCanvas where I had posted it for critiques. It made me realize that it might be time to offer these paintings via an auction format. The next painting is a bongo, and I'll be trying out a simple auction idea right here on the blog, either tomorrow or Tuesday.