Paintings of Wildlife & Nature by Rebecca Latham
This is my painting that I mentioned on the antique ivory (perhaps it should be stated ‘prehistoric ivory’, rather ;) ). I chose to paint a timber wolf portrait. This is the beginnings of the painting, of course. Much more will be added to the piece before it is considered finished. I am really having fun playing with this one. :D
This image (left – "Maternité", 1908, mother and children in a gold frame) is a miniature painting in the collections of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.
The muted and moody piece is a watercolor on Ivory by American miniature painter, Lucy Stanton (1876 – 1931). The painting’s image is 8-3/4 in x 7-3/4 in.
Ivory was first used by a Venician artist around 1700, and soon after, became very popular in England. …and of course, America. It became the surface of choice for those miniature painters who painted the popular portrait miniatures.
Pieces of ivory most often were cut as slices from a tusk, though methods were developed to cut very large and thin veneered sheets (a roll 52 feet in length was once displayed in the 1850’s). For durability reasons however, those veneered cuts never gained great popularity with miniature painters. In the 20th century, the largest classically cut and prepared pieces available to a miniature artist were about 6 in x 7 in and quite expensive. (This American artist sent for her pieces of ivory from London or Paris markets.)
Though some larger works can be found also, it is understandable that many smaller miniatures were painted on ivory…..with the expense of the surface and relatively small size of classically cut pieces, popularity of small miniatures during that time, and the difficulty that some artists had in handling paint on the smooth surface (I must add…it has even been published in several books that the difficulties of working on the surface is repeatedly over-emphasized in discussions of miniature painting.)
Personally, I honestly enjoy painting on these ivory and ivory simulated surfaces even more than the others that I have tried. :) …the final works seem to be popular with collectors as well.
Of course, ivory as it was during that period is no longer used because of species conservation. However, luminous qualities of a miniature painting are still achieved on ivorine, an ivory surface substitute. The Ivorine surface is neither opaque, like a gessoed panel, nor clear and transparent like glass. it has a translucent quality that adds depth to a painting. Surfaces like antique ivory and the mammoth ivory, which I am painting my wolf miniature on, for example are also available….and very nice as well.
This is a fishing boat from Maine. I placed it in a morning sunrise setting. In my trips to the East coast, my favorite part of visiting is seeing the colors, (sunrise or sunset) on the ocean, the calming movement of the water, and the smell of the fresh morning air. So in this painting, I tried to paint the feeling of those beautiful hazy views into the piece.
No worries, though – I won’t become a nautical or maritime ship painter anytime soon. ;) (…I wouldn’t mind painting the birds, though…. :D )
Wishing everyone, wherever you may be, warmest Christmas wishes and all the best in the new year! :D
“It is Christmas in the heart that puts Christmas in the air.” — W. T. Ellis
"Polar Ambiance", Watercolor on Board
One of my paintings in the 2007 MPSGS Exhibition
Earlier this year she also reviewed the RMS exhibition in the Mall Galleries in London – was nice to hear about the show I wasn’t able to go (I had 5 pieces in this year’s exhibition). Thank you, Katherine. :)
In miniature painting, some artists use such fine strokes that they are only seen by magnifying glass, while others use more visible strokes in their pieces that are best not viewed under magnification and carry well from a distance, as observed by a Swiss miniature art expert.
This is the beginnings of the black leopard miniature painting with the initial rendering of the fur. (The sketch post can be seen here.) There is much more to do on the piece of course, but the feel of the fur texture is in place.
I am eager to begin painting the soft subtle tones of color reflected in the fur and eyes – the contrast of the look of intensity of the cat and the delicate shades I will add in watercolor.
This is the beginnings of a drawing for another miniature watercolor piece I have in the works. I was requested to paint a more aggressive pose of a black leopard as a smaller miniature, so this is a 5×7 of a leopard ready for an attack.
The subject of the painting is a cat that, though he was in captivity, he was very intent on stalking my sister. (Which was odd, because I am usually the one who is stalked. :? ) So… it was a nice opportunity to gather some wonderful references of a very intense cat. :) He was absolutely beautiful. I hope to do him justice in the painting. :D
This is a little miniature I’m working on as well. It’s a chipmunk that I saw while I was out in Wyoming this fall. There were two of them that were scavenging around a park area. They were fairly used to being around humans, so they did come up fairly close – was very interesting to watch them. (My family had a hard time dragging me away from them… :? )