Lion family:

Jan does accept commissions from collectors but only after an in-depth conversation to be sure that Jan will be comfortable that she can provide the best painting possible and still meet the clients expectations. Clients Vicki and Tom Garrison had seen a pride lions made up of females and older cubs on the bank of the Sabi Sabi in Kruger. All they had was a still snap taken off their video. There was no INFORMATION there, but there was the IDEA, which Jan liked very much. She was intrigued by the early morning back lighting coming through the grasses and bushes and highlighting the lions. She also knew there could be interesting details and textures in the river bank. Having 25 years of experience, including 12 years having traveled to Africa, Jan felt confident she could recreate this scene drawing on her own experiences and using reference material in her files. As it turned out, she didn't have the bank details that she really wanted - but it so happened that Jan and James were going to Tanzania during the course of working on this painting - so - she specifically sought out an interesting river bank in the Serengeti and had her guide position her so that she could get just the right lighting to match the painting waiting for her back home on her easel!

Here is the still taken off the clients' video as the basis for the idea for the painting.

Jan has been a professional wildlife artist for 25 years. As she tell students in her workshops - go out there and collect experiences! Here is a photo of Jan taken 20 (?) years ago at a wildlife rescue facility with a young lion cub. Being able to put hands on animals for so many years has helped Jan understand behavior, anatomy, hair texture and more which helps her to create realistic and life-like paintings. Whenever possible she also sketches at zoos or in the field to further her understanding of the animal. This sketch is from her journal done on one of her many trips to Kenya.

Here Jan has done the drawing to size for the painting. You can see all the reference photos she is using from her files.

The background bush area has been loosely put in. The lions have been blocked in with dark brown paint and the foreground bank has been started by creating the underlying texture using the "cellophane" technique (see past What's on the Easel Now).

In this photo more leaves have been detailed in the far bushes, and closer bushes and grasses with the light coming through them have been started. The drawing has also been transferred to the lions in preparation to starting work on them.

Jan has now "drawn" the first lion cub's hair coat in off white paint. Of course she has actually painted this technique not "drawn", but she refers to it as "drawing it in paint". It is very similar to the techniques she use to use at the beginning of her career working in scratchboard, etching and pencil. While it looks like EVERY hair is delineated, Jan actually does "groups" of hair by splaying out her brush and by using an older brush which does not have as good of points to the hairs.

A unifying brown wash is now placed on the "drawn" out areas. Notice you can still see the strokes underneath. Jan says it is liking building a house, you have to do all the underlying "frame" work for the "house" to stand up. The photo she is working from for this cub is taped onto the painting surface.

The first lion cub is completed, and the lioness has been "drawn" in with the off white paint.

The main lioness now has the unifying brown wash done, and the final details are being started on her head and face.

This shows the main center lioness and the cub to the right completed while the others are still only blocked in the dark brown paint with the drawing transferred.

Here is the finished painting of the lions on the riverbank. Somehow in importing all the photos to the computer from their Tanzania trip Jan lost the last few "steps" of the painting. Really all they were, were the same series of steps done on the final three lions and then adding some details to the front bank. So this is the completed painting "SABI SABI SIMBAS", 18 x 24.