'Tiger' an original watercolour by Tessa Spanton
The photo above shows the painting in progress. I did a drawing first in pencil to get the position of the eyes as these are the focus of the painting. I then wet the large areas and painted under washes allowing the colours to blend on the paper.
I mixed a 'black' from the other colours and put this into some areas while still damp to get some soft edges and runs. When dry I built up layers of more colour some on damp paper and some on dry.
Working on damp paper can be unpredictable. Once I was happy with the result I then painted the eyes.
The fur was done using dry brush techniques. The whiskers were done with my new POSCA pen. It has a fine tip and is filled with white acrylic ink that gives good coverage, very useful. I also managed to get it to make some finer marks on top of the fur and the highlights on the eyes.
These pens are available in various colours and different versions. The one I used is from the Society of All Artists and is available mail order here
Thanks to Martyn Page for giving permission to use your photo.
