Cheetah Cub I, Wildlife Painting

Cheetah Cub I, chalk pastel on board

The original painting was of a cheetah family, the mother and 3 cubs. It was OK. But as time went on, I began to hate the way I had painted the mother, and the composition stopped working for me; so I cut it up.

I now have two cheetah cub paintings that I am much happier with. This is the first.

I'll post the second one at a later date.

Cheetah, Wildlife Painting

 Cheetah, chalk pastel on board, 20 x 23.5cm (8 x 9")

 I love Cheetahs and have done several paintings of them. This is one of my favourites.

Running Cheetah

I finished working on a cheetah today; I've even given it an inspired title – Running Cheetah – just in case you can't guess from the painting. OK, you are welcome to argue with me on that point. I used chalk pastel on mount board.

     I love pastel; it makes me feel very connected to my work because I'm hold the material directly, getting it on both my painting and me, using my fingers to move the colours about on the board.

     When I finish working on one of animals I'm always surprised that I am the one who painted it.

     I tried a light background for him first but he lacked drama, and I've used some wonderfully sparkly whites and golds (they really do have sparkles in them) that lift his coat. I'll have to find excuses for using these pastels again.

Image: Running Cheetah (www.tracybutler.co.uk)