This is an apple drawn with oil pastels. Blocks of color were sketched in to define the shape and form of the fruit, while slight variations in value were also applied in layers. The oil pastel medium lends itself to blending, either with a tool or fingers, which helps create gradient effects. Once the apple was drawn and blended, frantic lines were energetically whipped around and through the apple to add a surrealistic perspective.

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This is a drawing of a face that is approximately 7″x7″. A thin red pen was used to mark in basic facial features and eyes, and a wash of purple watercolor was used to define value and some shading. Light washes of water were repeatedly used to subtly blend lighter shades of ink around the face, but these shades are not readily visible without contrast adjustment. In the second image, the Levels of the artwork were shifted to reveal a higher degree of contrast between the ink and the paper. This adjustment gives the face an eerie set of eyes and a creepy sandman appearance as the computer attempts to fill in the white space with a grainy gradient value.

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This artwork is both a drawing and a painting of a Leopard that is approximately 9″x7″. Mediums used are brightly colored pencils, pens, markers, watercolor, and a silver paint pen. A few light sketch marks were initially drawn in for reference, and then varying combinations of mixed media were applied in layers. Eventually the shape of the leopard started to solidify amidst the energetic lines, and the silver paint added a reflective quality that is not apparent in the digital reproduction of the drawing/painting. Similarly to the way a leopard can blend in to the jungle environment, the animal’s form is not immediately recognizable in the artwork as it blends in with the chaotic colors and busy line work.

More animal drawings and paintings can be found in the Animal Portrait Art Gallery.

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These two artworks depicting lions blur the line between drawings and paintings. Each artwork started as a drawing of a lion, which was then augmented with watercolors, ink, or paint pens. The first lion drawing was sketched with a pen and thick black markers. A wash of watercolor and ink was used to add shadows and blend the crisp lines, resulting in a statuesque portrait of the lion.

The second lion drawing was initially sketched with pen in an impressionistic style, and layers of paint pens were subsequently added over the initial sketch. The resulting painting of a roaring lion fits the energetic style, and the discord between the primary colors add tension between the lion and the background.

Just a few samples of other unique stylistic approaches to lion drawings and paintings include these lion drawings, a portrait of a lion drawn with charcoal, an abstract lion painted with markers and paint pens, close up charcoal drawings of roaring lions, and a digitally drawn cartoon lion.

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This is a charcoal drawing and acrylic painting of a skull attached to a skeletal corpse. The artwork was initially sketched in 1998 with black charcoal. Then black, white, and brown acrylic paint was energetically brushed onto the canvas board with a palette knife. The dark colors reflect the morbidity of the subject, and the way the paint colors are pushed, pulled, mixed, scraped, and twisted around the canvas add a tension and unexpected life to the art. The composition of the skull on the skeleton, with eyes slightly above the horizontal midpoint, help suggest that the subject was posing for a portrait.

A variety of stylistic approaches have been applied to other skull drawings, such as this Skull Drawing Still Life, and this Painting of a Skull.

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