Zebras

9x12 watercolor and inks on paper done yesterday as an assignment homework for Sketchbook Skool.  The week's lesson began Friday and is on animals.  We were encouraged to visit a zoo or natural history museum to render animals from life.  If you had no such around you were to use toy figurines, a practice I've been doing for many years.  I had a mama and baby zebra so used those with the poses you see here.  At the end watercolor was splattered and washed at random, then letter stamps used to spell out zebra.
Image is COPYRIGHT 2014 Kay Smith.

Zebra Family

5.25x11.75 watercolor done this afternoon as my daily painting.  I had sketched these animals from small figurines years ago as a basis for a very large oil commission so the pencil drawing remained in my sketchbook.  Today I decided to draw them again on Strathmore 140 lb cold press paper and using a limited palette of quinacridone burnt orange and ultramarine blue I did an abstract background. When dry I added stripes based on what color was in the initial wash.  This was quick and easy and too much fun!