Reedbuck:

Jan and James went to Tanzania by themselves in June. Usually they have led groups to Kenya but had the opportunity to go to Tanzania to check out camps etc. so that they can start taking groups there. Here they are in the Serengeti in their Toyota Land Cruiser. They saw and photographed many great animals, but one stood out begging for Jan to paint. It was a great photo shoot of an Bohor Reedbuck. While Jan has seen and photographed reedbucks before, never had one such magnificent male ever been so close - and - it was backlit (Jan's favorite)!

Jan is once again using the oil painting technique she did on the last posting of "What's on the easel now " of the cheetah. That is, to lay the paint in very wet and thick and then blend with a sponge.

Here the wet paint has been blended using a foam rubber sponge.

Jan has now begun to detail out the grasses and weeds in the background.

Reedbuck has been blocked in with dark brown underpaint.

The drawing on tracing paper has now been transferred.

Jan frequently uses skulls, skins and other reference materials in working on her paintings. She decided she wants to make the horns a little bigger so she is looking at the skull to figure out what shape they will be.

Jan has begun drawing out the hair coat of the Reedbuck with off white paint.

A brown unifying wash has been applied to the reedbuck.

Jan has begun detailing out the reedbuck, paying special attention to the light source from the left.

Now comes the detailing of the weeds and grass. Here Jan is creating a "natural", "organic" look of seed tops that are lit by the sun. To do this she has dipped an old toothbrush into yellow and white paint and is rubbing her finger across the bristles to create a spatter effect.

Jan loves the touch of reality and authenticity so much, that besides using photos and skulls - she actually brings back branches, grasses and weeds from Africa. This is a leonotis - also called lions ear. It is actually a flower but makes an interesting "weed" when it is dried as seen here. Jan thought it made the perfect interest point behind the reedbuck.

Here is the completed painting - "IN DEEP GRASS" 11 x 14.