by Sharon Jeffus copyright 2009
One of my very favorite topics to paint, draw or sculpt in art is the deer. Deer give us time to pause and look at the wonder of God. Many times in the Bible we see the deer used for different lessons. Psalm 42:1 is a good example. We also see the deer used in heraldry and literature as a “stag,” as seen in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C. S. Lewis. The thing I like about doing a deer is that my favorite season is the winter and putting a deer in the snow is one of the best things you can do to learn techniques in using white and lightening and shading colors on a landscape. When we think of the deer, we think of relatives as the moose. the elk, American bison, reindeer and pronghorn antelope. The smallest kind (spieces) of deer is the pudu, the largest is the elk. A baby deer is called a fawn. When you are ready to do your picture, you want to first draw your deer on the horizon line. Type in “deer in the snow” in the images portion of google and you will get some ideas of how you want your deer to be placed in the landscape. Make sure that your deer is the center of interest in the picture.
Look at this picture above of the moose in the foreground and the mountains in the background. Do you see where the light is coming from in the picture? It is coming from the upper right hand corner. The bottom of the belly of the moose is darker. Look at the legs. The legs are shaded darker on the left and lighter on the right. What I truly love is the the view of the mountains. Notice how the mountains show depth by the use of shading. Do you see where the light falls? Also notice the green in the foreground is realistic looking and fades as it goes into the background colors. When you draw or paint a picture, first look where the light is coming from. Go to this website to practice shading and to notice where light is coming from: http://www.artyfactory.com/portraits/drawing_techniques/pencil_shading.htm
When you draw a deer, always look for basic shapes. Below you see how to start with basic geometric shapes and then use shading to make it look real. For an excellent lesson to practice on go to: http://www.dragoart.com/tuts/181/1/1/how-to-draw-a-white-tailed-deer.htm
Another excellent website is: http://www.dog-portraits-inpencil.com/howtodrawadeer.html
Nearly everything you draw can be viewed in basic shapes and then using shading, shadow and texture, you can make it look real. Here is an excellent website that shows you how to see basic shapes when you draw:http://www.how-to-draw-and-paint.com/learntodraw.html
Practice below drawing a deer:
In the picture above, you see a Japanese snow picture. Notice the lovely soft wa the mountains are shaded. Look at the color of the sky at the top of the picture. Here is a picture of some ladies in the snow from Japan. They are wearing kimonos.
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Kuniyoshi_Utagawa,_Women _30.jpg
I painted the picture above because I wanted to show what it looks like at that special moment when you see a big deer and be looks right in your eyes. I hoped to capture the calm and quiet of the moment. Here is a picture by the great master artist Bierdstadt: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bierstadt_Albert_A_Rocky_Mountain_Sheep_Ovis_Montana.jpgAlthough this is a mountain goat, you can still the similarities to the photograph of the moose. The light falls on the top and the belly is darker. What do you notice about the color of the sky?
White is the absence of color in science and a very important addition to color in art as you lighten all the color wheel colors with it. “White … is not a mere absence of colour; it is a shining and affirmative thing, as fierce as red, as definite as black…. God paints in many colours; but He never paints so gorgeously, I had almost said so gaudily, as when He paints in white.”Gilbert Keith Chesterton [British author, 1874–1936] “A Piece of Chalk,” Tremendous Trifles (1909)”
That being said, winter is a time to do art like no other. When we stay indoors, we can refresh our sense of wonder of the beautiful outdoors. Go to these websites for some wonderful painting ideas:
http://icons-pe.wunderground.com/data/wximagenew/t/tj1959/353.jpg
http://www.glaciernationalpark.name/wildlife/cjones/buck_in_snow.jpg
http://www.dutchmastersjoinery.com/images/Notecards/Deer_In_The_Snow.jpg
http://www.fnal.gov/pub/today/images08/FermilabDeerinwinter100b0950.jpg
As you go to the website and look at “Hunters in the Snow,” you will see a picture by a great master artist of the Netherland Renaissance, Pietre Bruegel the Elder. He painted many peasant scenes. The picture above shows depth by showing the peasants in the foreground much larger than those in the background.
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Pieter_Bruegel_d._%C3%84._092.jpg
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Pieter_Bruegel_d._%C3%84._106.jpg
In the picture above, are the colors darker in the foreground of the picture or the background of the picture? Do you see a slight yellow warmth in color along the horizon line. Look at http://static.panoramio.com/photos/original/4539437.jpg and see if you see how the colors in the foreground are darker. What do you notice about the color of the sky?
Go to this master work of art by Bierdstadt and look how the colors are darker in the foreground and lighter in the background. http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bierstadt_Albert_Canadian_Rockies_Asulkan_Glacier.jpg
Notice the size of the animals in this picture by Bierdstadt: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cathedral_Rock.jpg
How would you compare the picture above and this picture?
This article is by Sharon Jeffus of Visual Manna. You can go to visualmanna.com for information on her books and internet workshops. Students learn techniques and how to do art step by step live on the internet. You can email her at visualmanna@gmail.com for information.
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