Otter inspiration

Our Yellowstone Zoo

- photos from our windows -

An otter caught a trout and stopped at the shoreline to 'eat lunch' today.

Otters blend in so well with the surroundings, it's hard to spot them. But when you do, they're a real treat to watch.

 

We watched for awhile as he 'ate lunch' and then was on his way....

The perfect opportunity for a wildlife painting! So I set up my easel on the shore to do a plein air study in oils of the spot where he 'had lunch'.

The composition was really important. I wanted the otter to 'blend into the surroundings' - be a surprise spotting, just as they usually are here.

The Yellowstone River needed to be a large part of the painting. After all, the water is where otters are most 'at home'. Those beautiful water colors would need to catch your eye and draw you in. I didn't want the otter to be the main focus, as you would often expect in a wildlife painting.

I planned where I would place the otter as I was painting and added him in.

Yesterday, I had done a couple water studies of the Gardiner River, so I was 'warmed up' and ready to paint water...

Otter At The Shore - plein air study in oil  12' x 12'    by Shirl Ireland

I'll let it sit in the studio and have a 'cooling off' period. (You usually need to distance yourself from your work to see it more clearly for it's flaws as well as it's attributes.) If it passes the 'test', I'll use this as my study to work up a larger studio piece.

It certainly could be dramatic to paint this piece BIG. I'm hoping it passes!