Let it Shine, blue zebra

"Let it Shine"

. . . Let your light shine before men . . .  Mathew 5:16

I took pictures of this little zebra out at Antlered Acres last year.  Her name is Karen.  She is not tame, but she did let me get close enough for some nice photos.  The sun lit up her stripes and her main to show all kinds of subtle color changes. Of course the photos only captured a little of that, so when I sketched different ideas for this little painting I knew I wanted to exaggerate the colors.  

I zoomed in and cropped the composition so I could make her eye the focal point and try to capture her intense expression.  Plus I wanted some detail of the fur instead of making the stipes all smooth (which some of them absolutely were on her face, especially close to her muzzle).

Originally I thought I would create her all in sepia tones (as a monochrome), but the shadows of the white were such a beautiful light blueish gray that I kept dipping into blues and purples, which led to the stripes getting more of the same. This accented the wonderful contrast of the browns and oranges in the highlighted areas.  

I have worked on this painting of and on for almost a year. It was a tough year.  I closed and moved twice and then had to have major repairs on the home studio as well.  So I ended up moving things in and out of storage again! (Click here to read about this past year ).

 But more than all that, I think I just didn't want to be done because I enjoyed it so much. It was one of the bright spots in the middle of such difficult times. I just kept going back and changing the placement of the stripes, or shadows, or the shape of the eye.  I finally made myself stop and sign it!

About this painting:

Acrylic on gallery wrap canvas

The sides are painted, framing is optional

8 x 8 x 1.5 inches

$395.00

Click here to see more 

Email me: fawn@fawnsartstudio.com  for availability or for information about having your own custom painting created! (Animal portraits, kids with pets or livestock, homesteads, vistas, inspirational art, etc... )  
Price list by size.

Thanks for looking!