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A watercolour fox -
the perfect gentleman for a super granulating pigment
My first watercolour fox. Sometimes when you see an image you just know you have to paint it, don't you. And, sometimes you know just which colour you want to use. Well, that was exactly the case with a stunning photo of a red fox and a super granulating black pigment.
The watercolour pigments
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These are the colours I used to paint him. They are all from the Van Gogh range made by Royal Talens.
Yellow Ochre, Permanent Orange, Burnt Sienna, Oxide Black, and metallic Copper.
My watercolour paper
The watercolour paper I used is by Fabriano: Torchon Extra Rough 25% Cotton 300g/m² 140lb, 30.5 cm x 45.5 cm (12" x 18"). It is also known as Studio watercolor paper.
It has a great surface texture that is especially good in combination with granulating pigments.
This is a detail of the granulation effect on the Torchon paper with this fox.
But any other Not/cold pressed paper that doesn't have a marked regular pattern on its surface will do fine. (Otherwise, when the particles of very granulating pigments settle into the depressions on the paper's surface, all you see when it is dry is the pattern of the mould that the paper was made from.)
This is the granulation effect of the same combination of pigments of another fox painted on Aquapad by Clairefontaine: a 300g/m² 140lb 100% cellulose paper that is great for experimenting on.
Being a 100% cellulose paper it's much cheaper than cotton papers and its surface allows colour to be lifted off relatively easily when both wet and dry, which makes it a great paper for beginners.
The reference photo
The stunning reference photo that inspired my painting is by photographer Alexander Andrews.
This is the link - https://unsplash.com/photos/mEdKuPYJe1I
Isn't he gorgeous?!
Coming soon... my watercolour fox tutorial
My local watercolour class have been painting this fox with me, having fun swapping brushes for a spray bottle to paint his body!
We now have a beautiful skulk of characterful red foxes :)
I am going to paint him again, this time taking photos of each step, so that you can join in the fun and have a go too.
Watch this space!
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