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This is a quoll. And what is that you ask? This quoll, called a Spotted-Tailed Quoll is the second largest carnivorous marsupial of Australia, behind the Tasmanian Devil. This is the first wash that I did of this very unique animal, for Carrie's alphabet book.
I did more than a wash with this phase. I worked on the eyes, did some shaping with the use of darker coloring for the fur. You see white spots. I am using a product called masking fluid that does just that. It masks those area that you don't want to pick up any color. I chose to try it since the quoll had so many areas, and I really didn't think I could keep them crisply white. It worked!
Lots of detail work and lots of darks added, to get the shape and feel of a real animal. More work with adding the right amount of color to the eyes, never just doing them alone, but with work around the eyes and with the entire animal. All the spots have the masking fluid removed, which allows the artist to incorporate the saved areas into the whole painting. Quolls really do have the bright pink nose! When Don saw it he asked if I was really going to keep the nose so pink. I had to show him a picture. He understood then...And the quoll is done!
Ok, I lied. It was not the end of the Quoll. The colors always reminded me of a Fox that I had done for grandson Jack's alphabet book, (I put the fox on this page for comparison's sake). But when I saw how it reproduced, I knew what was wrong: I ended the work on it too soon. So instead of taking the original finished quoll down, I left it so you could see that I was right. The revised finished picture now looks finished to me. Done!
Here is the Fox from Jack's book. You can see similarities and differences in the color, but to me now the Quoll looks more finished. I think the coat of a fox looks luxurious. I didn't think the coat of the quoll that I painted had that look. I wanted a thicker coat, and I think I have more of what I had in mind, now, with the added color. Some was watercolor with a brush and some was watercolored pencils, with water added to what was on the paper.
Quoll
I have never heard of a Quoll, so I love to think that I have learnt something today. Quoll??????
Quoll or no quoll.... think your painting is very good.
Don't get a big head... cos I have never seen one.
Do they live near streams?
maybe another Michele Vaile in Australia would know.
Keep going Michele, your nearly at the end.
Quoll hum...........
Does it bite?
Wow, that is really amazing. I love seeing the progression. You make this look so easy since we are missing all of the blood, sweat and tears pictures. Of course, with your talent it probably is easy.
Quoll? It looks like a dwarven kangaroo? Are they related? Wait, spell check on blogspot doesn't recognize the word Quoll. I think you made it up *wink*.
Nice to know people actually read the posts! I found comments very funny! First, they do bite, and quite effectively. They can be very nasty, but are so darn interesting and unusual looking, with the large pink nose, you wonder! They live in Australia, but in a more temperate region, with forests, coastal region I believe.
I haven't heard of the dwarben kangaroo, so don't know if they are related. I imagine if you look up marsupials of Australia you could see pictures of them, and probably the picture I took my painting from! I am going to put in a new last picture. I decided it needed a few more tweaks, or blood, sweat, and tears! Almost done with Rhino...keep looking! and have started the S...this is an easy one to guess, if I haven't already told you.