Does anybody love lions here?
After my elephants and roses painting, I immediately felt that I should try lions since I love lions and I think it would be a beautiful duo even if the two are seldom seen together.
Medium: Watercolor
Size: 4 x 6 inches
Year: 2020
scanned artwork
Rationale:
These are just two of my favorite things. I did not think of this actively but I knew that Lions are majestic and strong they are the King and Queen of beasts. Often they are connected to virtues such as strength, courage, justice and military might. For the masculine part, a lion means power and might while a lioness reflects the feminine side as great mother and protection.
A rose is the queen's flower. Historically, the rose is known as the best and most beautiful flower even with the presence of its sharp thorns. It is used as an ornament, for health and healing and it's fruit used for preservation and beauty care.
I made a post not long ago about Logos and the Rose. The symbolism of it.
https://hive.blog/nature/@jacinta.sevilla/symbolisms-semiotics-on-the-queen-of-the-garden
In short, this is a queen of beasts with the queen of flowers. We do see how both come first in their order. Very royal and sophisticated. I chose a lion cub to match my baby elephant theme. Also "children" will always give us a light heart and fills the air with joy and innocence which I think is so important for us to value.
My elephants post: https://hive.blog/art/@jacinta.sevilla/elephants-and-roses-part-2-love
Let's proceed to the making process!
I will share pictures which are my favorite ones and some just ordinary pics of the process.
- First is sketch and base color: yellow is my base
Was honeslty excited and scared cause I felt like I may not pull this off, so I started carefully dabbing yellow and brown spots (light golden brown mixed with orange too).
- Adding some outlines with midtones: I use maroon and purple
- More color to build it up, the eyes are empty but I filled it up with light blue and yellow then adding pink violet and dark purple.
Here are some close up pics to see the eyes:
I do not use black until I am at the end part to finally define shading. I only use dark green, blue, purple and maroon.
** Video time:**
Layering the fur
- Painting the flower a bit
I started with light yellow, add orange, add pink, add fuscia, add some red and maroon and a darker shade of pink and violet, then green for leaves and a strong pink and orange to define it more.
Video time:
- More definition! adding darker tones
here the flower is finished.
- Then I add shadows and dark colors lastly
Tip:
There are times when I feel like I hesitate to paint on the face cause I might ruin it. Never go with this feeling! Just plan and analyze the process. Go with what has least chances of error and execute. Doubts are natural but pursue it anyway! You lean by experiences like this. If it goes bad, repeat! Trust yourself and you will come up with something better. Maybe it is not as perfect as you imagine but its close to it.
There is no improvement that comes with doubt. You have to try!
This is my final output. I could definitely add more to volumize it but I think I reached a point where it might get overdone and too dark if I add more. For now I am satisfied and I know I need to stop and continue with something else. Maybe next time I can try another similar painting with a new style or adding more saturation or shadows. But know when to say it is enough and then try something new again next time around.
Is it as good as imagined, no. In fact I was so happy, but after some hours, I started to see errors and how I did not achieve "that effect" I was after but you cannot be a machine and expect excellence after one try. Watercolor is a difficult medium and you can only improve once you have made a collection. When you change brands of watercolor, it takes practice again. Everything is an adjustment.
.jpg)
It is hard not to compare your work with some greater artist out there, but just make them an inspiration. You LEARN and be Better than yesterday. That's all that matters.
I am trying to make a collection of nature inspired artworks! Hope you enjoyed my post and art!
Thank you!
I may also host another art contest soon so keep your eyes open!
This post has been manually curated by @steemflow from Indiaunited community. Join us on our Discord Server.
Do you know that you can earn a passive income by delegating to @indiaunited. We share 80 % of the curation rewards with the delegators.
Here are some handy links for delegations: 100HP, 250HP, 500HP, 1000HP.
Read our latest announcement post to get more information.
Please contribute to the community by upvoting this comment and posts made by @indiaunited.
Shukriya!
thank you
I like all sorts of big cats... but lions are not my favourites. I prefer Panthers and Cougars! 🤗
Beautiful drawings, Jacinta!