Stephanie Peters

Last Saturday, I spent the afternoon painting at the Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix, Arizona. It is an amazing place to see all kinds of desert plants, but unfortunately I can't tell you what kinds of plants, because I wasn't paying any attention to the plants. Although I find flowers pretty, plants aren't really my thing - I'm sure my botanist Grandfather is rolling in his grave hearing that - But, animals - animals are my thing. And the Desert Botanical Garden is a great place to see some native desert animals.. like the Round Tailed Ground Squirrel, or the Harris Antelope Squirrel... 

​...and a great place to see native birds like the Gambel's Quail, Roadrunner, and even some non-native birds like the house sparrow. 

Painting animals from life is not exactly easy, because they never stand still. It is recommended you learn a bit about the anatomy and movement of your subject before you enter the field - and way before adding water, paint and a brush. I am no expert at painting animals from life, but I have been practicing a lot recently. My practice method is not drawing the animal in detail, but instead capturing their gestures in watercolor. With gesture painting (same principles as gesture drawing in learning how to draw the figure), you can get a better understanding of the creature's movement - which ultimately helps me when I'm in the studio painting from photographs. 
So last Saturday, I was doing some gesture painting of Quail, House Sparrows and my favorite this week, the Harris Antelope Squirrel. Now, because the animal moves... and really doesn't stop moving... ever... with watercolor gesture painting, you get blobs of paint that kind of resemble a distorted road-kill version of the really adorable creature you are trying desperately to paint... 

But sometimes, you can get some really interesting results. And those blobs and layers of watercolor paint can catch the essence, the life, the energy of that really adorable creature you are painting...

Then, make them available as prints on products of course... 

Just another fun way of merging technology and art: The traditional into the digital. 

I think the best thing about gesture painting is that it keeps you loose. When painting from photographs, I tend to get too technical and focus on all the details. Which can be interesting if you are trying to render a subject accurately and realistically. But, I prefer to paint abstractly - I love how abstract marks can add an energy that sometimes gets lost in 2D art. So when you are out in the 'field,' this method really enhances the movement and I feel it brings the soul of the subject to life.  More gesture painting to come as warm spring days invite me outdoors. 

​Last week, I was all about the Round tailed Ground Squirrel, and as seen on instagram, this week,
​I've discovered the

The Harris Antelope Squirrel is native to Arizona, New Mexico and some parts of northern Mexico. It looks very similar to a chipmunk, but is in fact a squirrel. They can be found in rocky desert areas and around cacti. They are always dashing around and looking adorable. But, when they get hot, they will find a cool shady area, and spread their legs out so their belly will touch the cool ground. This helps release the heat from their body, and explains their odd behavior. Well some of it... 

So to celebrate my new favorite subject, I decided to take three different materials and explore how I want to share my love for it. The first material I used to convey the subject was charcoal:

Charcoal is a wonderful material to really grab the form, and showcase the values in the composition - but wasn't quite what I was looking for... Next, I tried some graphite and added a little wash to it... 

Then to really capture the personality of the Harris Antelope Squirrel, I decided to draw a more quirky pose, in just the simplicity of graphite: 

Graphite is one of my favorite mediums to render a subject in, the precision and value helps bring the creature to life.
A good wildlife drawing or painting is usually rendered quite well - but a great or even exceptional wildlife painting, I believe, captures the soul - the personality - the life of the subject. By doing the Harris Antelope Squirrel in three different mediums, I am able to explore different styles, textures, etc. that will help me find my way to share the soul, the personality, and the life of the subject - at least, how I see it or experience it. Most likely, these studies will lead to a larger pastel drawing or even a painting. I know for sure though, this little squirrel gives so much inspiration in it's tiny package, that I'll never stop wanting to draw or paint it!