Stag

18x24 watercolor on Canson 140 lb. cold press paper painted previously in about an hour with a #14 round brush and a 1" flat sable. I first spritzed the paper at random with water over my pencil drawing then did the darks first. Antlers were done then the ears, nose, mouth. A very limited palette used of burnt sienna and ultramarine blue. Just a touch of raw sienna and raw umber in minute amounts were used along with lots of water sprayed into wet paint, letting drips happen. A final drip ran down from the background middle and onto the stag's back, creating a run into his back that looks like antler horn shadows. COPYRIGHT Kay Smith 2026

White Barn with Deer

8.5x5.5 watercolor using White Nights paints on 140 lb Canson paper done last week, another in my country barn series. In this farm or ranch scene a large wreath is seen decorating the barn front, while a lone deer is walking into the area. COPYRIGHT 2022 Kay Smith

Bugling Elk

7x10 watercolor on Langston Prestige 140 lb cold press paper done today after initial pencil sketch yesterday. Ref courtesy Patricia/Creative Spark August Animal/Wildlife challenge. The photo showed the bull elk doing his early morning bugle call. It was difficult to show the darkness and light along with a fine mist. COPYRIGHT 2022 Kay Smith

Doe Resting

6x8 watercolor on Hahnemuhle grey toned paper, 95 lb. cold press, using White Nights paints done last week. Using a photo I took of this sleeping doe outside bedroom window in the mountains, she deserved her time in the sun. COPYRIGHT 2021 Kay Smith

Deer in Meadow

5.5x5.5 watercolor in Arteza 110 lb CP paper sketched and painted yesterday for this month's southwest/western challenge on WetCanvas. Photo courtesy Jo Castillo/Texas. I cropped the photo to edit out most of the doe's body to focus on her head and part of the background. COPYRIGHT 2021 Kay Smith

Colorado Elk

9x12 watercolor on Canson 140 lb cold press paper completed today of a resting bull elk in the Rocky Mountains; photo courtesy of artist friend Jenna of Wisconsin and featured in the current monthly WetCanvas challenge. COPYRIGHT Kay Smith 2021

Bull Elk in Deep Snow

12x9 watercolor on #CansonPaper 140 lb cold press sketched in pencil then painted today, another in my winter landscape wildlife series of a bull elk leading the way through deep snow. Imagine all the cows following him as he heads off towards other areas of the forest. COPYRIGHT 2020 Kay Smith

Autumn Elk

5x8 watercolor on 140 lb cold press paper completed today for a fall or autumn scene featuring one of my favorite wildlife subjects.
COPYRIGHT 2018 Kay Smith

Cow Moose

15x11 watercolor on 140 lb Arches cold press paper, another recent moose wildlife with an imaginary landscape.  In this one, I placed a cow moose in foreground in front of a vast lake with western mountains in distant background.  A cloudy sky hovers over the land.
Image COPYRIGHT 2015 Kay Smith.

Mountain Moose in Velvet

11x15 watercolor on 140 lb cold press paper done earlier in the month along with other wildlife and woodland scenes for hunting lodge art.  It comes in handy to have a passion for animals and an imagination for different landscape settings along with wildlife refs.  As I don't feel I do scenes well it helps to combine landscapes with animals.
Image COPYRIGHT 2015 Kay Smith.

Reindeer with Bird's Nest

8x5.5 watercolor and ink on Strathmore Visual Journal for mixed media, a quick sketch of a happy reindeer parading around with a bird's nest on his antlers.  On the paper I had put wet teabags so you can see some areas with teabag imprints. Black India ink was used when dry to add line and emphasis on this whimsical piece.
Image is COPYRIGHT 2015 Kay Smith.

Deer Shadows

5x7.5 watercolor done this past weekend while in the mountains.  On Saturday morning these does were camped out in the early morning sunshine right outside our door.  The current Sketchbook Skool assignment homework with Cathy Johnson was to draw and paint a nature scene outside so this is what I used.  Support is Moleskine for watercolor sketchbook.
Image is COPYRIGHT 2015 Kay Smith.

Woodland Deer-a card a day

6x4 inches watercolor on Saunders 140 lb cold press paper, American Journey paints, done this afternoon. I used black and white photos of a Ruidoso deer and made up the landscape. Spritzing with cobalt blue then spraying with white gouache make up the snowfall. I'm still on a card-a-day even though some posted lately are much larger. Now I'm on a roll and can't quit.