Tuesday, July 10, 2012

Beth Bale "Jellybean" 7-10-12

“Jellybean”
Beth Bale
Acrylic 20 x 16” Framed
$270

The white tiger is titled "Jellybean", because that is the name of the tiger at the Carolina Tiger Rescue.  They say he is a very sweet boy, but I'm not sure how much I'd test that theory, as he stands around eight feet high when he stretches up the fence to get treats.  This is an acrylic painting on canvas.

I have been asked why I chose acrylic when I usually paint in watercolor.  All I can say is that I find myself reaching for my acrylics paints many times when I know I am planning to do a highly realistic, representational painting of an animal with fur.  It seems so easy in acrylic compared to watercolor.  I tend to do a number of layers of thin paint in acrylic, starting with a very thin wash of almost complementary colors to what I plan to put over it.  The details, some individual pieces of fur, foreground, etc. go in at the very end with a smaller brush than I use for most of the painting.  And you see the final result.  I am constantly reminding myself to stop sooner rather than later in my paintings.  It is easy to overdo a painting and paint the life right out of it, so to speak.  Sometimes less is more and just the suggestion of a thing is enough to get the viewer's eye to see what you want them to see.  Hope you enjoy viewing the paintings.                                           ~ Beth Bale

1 comment:

  1. I happen to be a fan of Beth's, find her work absolutely woos my love of animals.This Jellybean~ WOW! Thank you for bringing her to life... if art is what touches the soul, here it is!

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