Snow Leopard – Small Miniature

 


This is a small snow leopard painting that I recently finished – watercolor on ivorine.  The head of the cat is just about 2 inches height/width.  Being one of the smaller miniatures, it didn’t spend a lot of extra time on my easel, just a few days – one thing that I do like about painting the smaller ones. ;)

I’ve been wanting to paint another big cat, a snow leopard inparticular, for some time – I think it’s been about a year since I painted one.  I love big cats and the intense expressions that they have.  It’s such a challenge to capture their look in a painting.  Snow leopards are so beautiful with all of the soft grays in their fur that contrast with the crisp black spotting – very fun to paint. :D

Being that these beautiful cats are an endangered species, it makes painting them a little more special.  The Snow Leopard Trust has done a lot to help these cats through donations and volunteers – http://www.snowleopard.org/

(Click on the images to see a larger image of the cat painting in a new window)  This painting is currently available.

8 Responses to “Snow Leopard – Small Miniature”

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  1. Doris says:

    absolutely wonderful Rebecca.

  2. Philip Moller says:

    I like the snowleopard, that painting is very good.
    Perhaps you can paint a ‘Lodjur’ (in Swedish), I don’t no what the english word is for that animal.
    But here is a link to a picture of it:
    http://www.bioresurs.uu.se/myller/fjall/fjall_bild/lodjur.jpg

    Thank’s for all the great paintings you produce.

    Sincerely,
    Philip
    Sweden

  3. Patrick says:

    Your painting of the Snow Leopard is absolutely fantastic Rebecca ! I painted one of those back in the eighties, but not a close-up like yours. Continued success Rebecca, and may God Bless.

  4. Bob says:

    You did this so well, it looks like you can put your hand up to it and feel the fur. Amazing!

  5. Rebecca says:

    @Doris – Thank you! I haven’t worked on the ivorine as much lately…that was fun to get back into as well. :D

    @Phillip – Perhaps that is an Eurasian Lynx? This is the listing in Wikipedia – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eurasian_Lynx Actually, I did have the chance to see some of these cats up close to study and take photos for reference. They were a pair that had been rescued from fur traders and had been taken to a sanctuary to live (the ones that I saw were slightly more gray in color than your photo). I saw so many cats that day…I will have to go take a peek in my albums to see what I have to work with… :D They are very beautiful cats.

    @Patrick – I always get into painting the subject like you are right there with them. I’ve done some landscapes and distance paintings, but the up close pieces are just such a draw for me. (I hope you are still painting… :) )

    @Bob – Thank you! I really love painting fur and making the illusion of softness combine with the crisp fur texture. :D

    Thanks for visiting – Cheers

  6. amanda m. says:

    these paintings are wonderful. I love animals particularly big cats and owls and especially wolves. I just love your work You do a wonderful job of capturing the animal.

  7. Rebecca says:

    Thanks so much, Amanda! :D I’m delighted that you like my work. I love those animals too…that’s why I paint them. ;)

  8. Bekk. says:

    Woah.
    You're the best artist i've eve seen paint big cats!
    Keep up the good Work!
    I love big cats :D <3