Cougar:

There are four main basic elements Jan uses to get her ideas and create her work:

#1 Jan gathers experiences. #2 She creates her own reference photos, taking not only animals, but habitat as well. #3 She studies as much as possible about nature, having created a her own huge natural history library. #4 Jan continues to try to grow as an artist: painting in the field, sketching and when possible studying with other artists.

Here is the drawing done to size for the painting. It is taped at the top with "hinges" that allow it to be flipped back and forth as needed to transfer elements to the painting surface. You can see the photos Jan is working from on the left. Obviously the center photo on the right of the cougar is the "main" source of reference, but she is changing the rocks behind him to a more interesting formation (photo at top) and other landscape details like the back lit sage which she is adding to the left of the cat.

Jan has masked off the cougar with masking fluid and cellophane. She has also started laying in the far off vegetation. This is usually how Jan works - from the back to the front.

The work is beginning on the rocks. Jan always strives for a random organic basis to all the habitat. To achieve this look for rocks she crumbles cellophane into the wet paint.

Acrylic is a fast drying paint and many artists ask Jan how she slows the drying time down. She doesn't! In fact she speeds it up with a hair dryer, so that she can then layer on the next wash of color!

In this photo Jan has begun detailing the rocks some more, adding in shadows, highlights, cracks and fissures.

To create the look of natural lichens on the rock, Jan is using a natural sea sponge, dipped into the paint on her palette and then dabbed onto the rock.

Here the masking material has been removed, and Jan has used the neutral colored gesso to start blocking in the grass and seeds tops. She is doing it this way because to make it "glow" with the backlighting she will be doing transparent washes.

The cougar has been blocked in with a dark brown/purple base. The drawing has been transferred with white artist transfer paper.

Jan has begun detailing the eyes, nose and mouth of the cougar and "drawing" out the hair coat in off white paint. Especially in smaller paintings such as this 11 x 14, Jan uses a high intensity lighted magnifying lamp so that she can do the intricate details. Here you can see Jan looking through the lamp and painting on the cougar - you can also see the reference photo she is also looking at through the lamp.

Here the head and front half of the cougar have been "drawn" out in the off white paint.

A unifying brown was has been done over the cougar.

The final detailing of the cougar is done.

Jan has begun work on the foreground grasses. She is lying them in various washes of green. This allows the light to "glow" through them.

This is the completed painting, "RUSTLE IN THE GRASS". It is 11 x 14.