Winter Moose

It's far from winter, but a winter scene was the subject for my painting today. I haven't done a moose yet and wanted to experiment... so below is the result. The moose was done is a black/white acylic first; then masked. Fast Flo white base medium. Blend in the sky letting is disappear into the base medium. Background fir trees were put in with a script liner and kept blurred to make them feel distant. The snow is just ultramarine blue brushed into the white base medium. I love birch trees so I have to put some of those in. 😀

The moose looks okay, but not quite as I planned. Animals (when keeping them life like) are a challenge for me. The snow is the final item to add. It's done using a fan brush and very thinned down titanium white. I use a finger to pull the bristles back and let them spring forward to "spray" or fleck the paint in little dots across the canvas. Same thing works for stars in a night sky too. Done on a stretched canvas with the painting wrapping around the frame.