Using Captive Wildlife As Painting References

I admit that I'm spoiled. Within minutes of my home here in Colorado, I have access to some of the most amazing wildlife to photograph and paint. Bald Eagles nest in a big Cottonwood tree near my home. Great Horned Owl families have nests in several locations nearby. Deer, bison, prairie dogs, and birds of many kinds roam the Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge just 30 minutes away. Waterton Canyon often sports Bighorn Sheep so close that you can leave your telephoto lens at home.

Red-Tailed Hawk along Coal Creek, Louisville, Colorado

But I know most folks in the continental US aren't so lucky. You might need to drive much further than I do to see truly wild animals. And for artists living in a big city who want to paint wildlife, zoo animals can be an important source for reference material. But for the wildlife artist, there are a few things to keep in mind when painting or sculpting zoo animals, especially when you're going to place them in a naturalistic (wild) setting. Knowing what adjustments you need to make in your painting or sculpture can give your finished work the authentic look of a wild scene.

General Observations

Most zoo animals don't get a lot of exercise, certainly not as much as their truly wild cousins. There are some exceptions to this, but by and large, expect to have to trim some fat and add some muscle tone to the animals in your art if you want them to appear truly wild. This is similar to what you and I might do when we go to a gym, but easier! This is where you find other reference photos, dust off your drawing skills, and make the adjustments you need the old-fashioned way: by hand.

Also note that animals in zoos often have different behaviors than their wild counterparts, so what you see them doing in a zoo might not be something you'd see its wild cousin doing out in the national park. I hate to be the bearer of bad news but some zoo animals can't handle the stress of being confined and develop repetitive, compulsive behaviors that are not natural. Get to know the animals you're painting or sculpting. Read about them, watch videos, try to see them in the wild if you can. Note their wild behavior and how it's different from those same types of animals in a zoo. All of this background research will make its way into your finished work and give it an added layer of authenticity.

Another thing to keep in mind is the time of year you're portraying in your work. In cold climates, wild mammals tend to look rather thin in the spring due to lack of food over the winter. They may also be sporting their winter coats until early to mid summer, depending on the species so getting the coat condition correct with the season is a big plus.

Wild birds, particularly ducks and shorebirds, may have remarkably different colorations from winter to summer - if you want to make your painting look authentic, don't portray a duck in its summer finery in a cold winter setting. Again, get to know the animal you're painting either with guidebooks (either online or print).

One note if you're trying to portray zoo-housed African or Australian animals in a naturalistic/wild setting: the light quality (color, intensity, general appearance)  in Africa and Australia is much different from the way it looks in North America. If you haven't physically been in safari, in order to portray the lighting correctly on your animals and avoid painting them with "North American lighting", you're going to need to do some research. Watch videos of African/Australian wildlife  to get the feel of the lighting where your animals might live - your local library should  have a ton of movies - but remember not to copy from them. Movies and DVDs are copyright-protected, just as photos in books and magazines are. Use them for inspiration only unless you have the permission of the copyright-holder.

A Bonus Tip

It's also a really great idea to have a library of your own reference photos or sketches of truly wild animals to which you'd compare the zoo animals. This is the approach I take since a) I like observing wildlife in the wilderness b) I like taking photos and c) I prefer my paintings be 100% mine from start to finish (not using reference photos from other people if I can help it). You certainly can use books, web photos, or other published material just to see what a truly wild animal looks like, but understand that you cannot copy from these published materials unless you have the permission of the person who produced it. Since copyright laws can be dicey, you're much safer to use your own reference photos as much as possible. Plus it's most fun to take your own pictures, and experience the animals on your own, than it is to page through a book or a website!


Now on to the animals...

Small Birds - For birds that cannot fly, look for clipped flight feathers and broken wings on the smaller zoo birds. Some of these birds are rescues that cannot be released back into the wild and are given refuge in zoos. Refer to photos of truly wild versions of the birds and make adjustments to your drawing or painting accordingly (i.e., add flight feathers back in, "mend" a broken wing by drawing it in its correct placement, etc.).

A budgie at the Tacoma Zoo - no adjustments necessary other than lighting.

Large Birds and Raptors - Again, check for clipped flight feathers and broken wings (common). Note that many of the larger birds and raptors will have atrophied breast (pectoral) muscles if they are not flown, and the birds themselves might look a bit chunky in the belly region. Refer to photos of truly wild versions of the birds and make adjustments to your work accordingly (i.e., add flight feathers back in, "mend" a broken wing by drawing it in its correct placement, etc.).

A captive Gyrfalcon, not flown. Note atrophied pectoral muscles and overall chunky-looking belly.

A captive Prairie Falcon, unable to fly but exercised as much as his injury allowed. Note his broken right wing (left side of the pic) resting at a slightly odd angle. Pectorals a little atrophied but otherwise a lean bird not requiring a lot of adjustments to paint/sculpt.

A wild Red-Tailed Hawk in Lafayette, Colorado. 

Small Mammals - May be lacking a little in muscle tone and might be a bit overweight, although this is often harder to see on the smaller mammals in zoos. You may need to trim some fat from them and tone up their muscles if you want to place them in a naturalistic setting in your artwork, but I find this isn't usually necessary.

Large Mammals - I'll get on my soapbox a little bit here...it's my opinion that most zoos don't have the space to adequately and compassionately house large mammals like elephants, giraffes, hippos, rhinos, Bighorn Sheep, Mountain Goats, Bison, etc. A few zoos do, most don't, but this doesn't stop them from doing it. In the wild, these animals often roam great distances and are very active in their quest for food, water, or to avoid predators. To me, the large mammals in zoos often appear overweight, lacking in muscle tone, and they look/act bored or suffering from forms of stress-induced psychosis. They are often not a pretty sight. The bigger the enclosures, the better, so places like Northwest Trek near Tacoma and the San Diego Wild Animal Park in California are often better for the animals than a small city zoo.

Bighorn Sheep ewe at the Denver Zoo - a little pudgy through the belly and lacking a little muscle tone, but not too bad. 

A wild Bighorn Sheep ewe on Mt. Evans, Colorado. A little slimmer through the belly and a bit more muscled than her captive cousin. Probably happier too.

Reptiles - Zoo reptiles may be lacking a bit in muscle tone and have muted skin colors. I've noticed that many zoo reptiles (especially our more colorful lizards) tend to be a tad less colorful in captivity than their cousins in the wild. Overall though, you probably won't need to make many adjustments.

Carnivores - All of the same things apply to carnivores as I said above under "Large Mammals," but I'll add a bit. Zoo cats (lions, tigers, mountain lions, etc.) almost across-the-board lack muscle tone and definition. Most are overweight, either a little or a lot. I have seen some very obese adult cats (and bears too) in zoos, and it's not a pretty sight when you've seen them in all of their fit and well-muscled glory in the wild. Again, there are exceptions but if you plan on putting a zoo cat into a naturalistic setting in your art, you're going to need to consult references photos of truly wild individuals and make adjustments in your work. If the zoo animal is truly obese, it's probably not possible to make enough adjustments for him or her look fit and wild - the only thing you might be able to salvage from the animal is a portrait.

A somewhat-overweight Tiger at the Wild Animal Sanctuary here in Colorado. These guys get a lot of room to roam (many acres!) but the Sanctuary makes sure to keep their big cats adequately fed so they are more docile and easier to care for.

A captive Wolf at the Wild Animal Sanctuary. Slim and relatively fit because of many acres to run on with her pack, this wolf wouldn't need many adjustments. Perhaps a little additional muscle tone around her shoulders, but she looks pretty good as-is!

Sea Mammals - ditto "Large Mammals," above. They don't belong on display in traditional zoos or aquariums, period. Rehabilitation & release I understand and support, but not catch-and-display. I don't give my money to institutions that do this.


The Wrap-up

You can portray captive animals in natural settings in your art if you know what adjustments to make. The key is getting to know the animals as much as possible, both in the wild and in captivity. Read, watch videos, and research as much as you can.

Taking these things into account as you paint or draw zoo animals will give your painting a feeling of authenticity.

All text and photos copyright Nancy Rynes. You may link to this page, but do not copy text or photos without my written permission.

Where Do I Get My Ideas?

I bet that almost every artist out there gets asked this question too many times to count:

Where do you get your ideas?

Each artist might have a slightly different answer, and even mine vary depending on the painting I'm working on. I'd like to be able to say that some angelic muse always guides my brush along the canvas and creating the perfect painting as if by magic, but unfortunately that pretty much never happens. Sometimes my ideas take months or years to mature, sometimes days, some take hours of research, some are just a hike through the woods away.

"A Moment at Sunrise" Oil, 18"x24"

Landscapes - Direct Observations

Walks, hikes, visiting interesting places, and just being outdoors in general inspire my landscapes. Morning or evening light on the mountains is a favorite for me. Yep, these paintings are pretty darn literal...they are a combination of my feelings, memory, sketches, photos, and experiences. I might move things around a bit to enhance the composition, heighten colors in an area and lessen them in others, or maybe add an animal or two. But the scene I paint is pretty much as I experienced it.

"Tough Guys of the Prairie" Oil, 18"x24"

Animals - Direct Observation

Many of my paintings of animals come about in the same way as my landscapes. I'm lucky to live in the western US where wildlife isn't too far away. Even on a usually-routine walk I'll see a Golden Eagle, Bald Eagles, coyotes, deer, or even elk. Sometimes I'll go out into nature to find specific types of animals to photograph and paint. The pose or gesture of an animal might inspire me to paint it later. Or maybe it's the landscape the animals walk through, or a particular moment in time that just feels like magic. Sometimes it's the attitude of the animals themselves that inspire a painting, as in "Tough Guys," above.  Often, I'll put animals from one location into a landscape from another, combining and rearranging elements to create something more artistic, more evocative of the experience than a purely literal painting.

"The Old Ones" Oil on textured panel, 18"x24"

My "Textures" Series - Dreams and Intuition

It's the "Textures" series where the creative process kicks in to high gear for me.

A little more than half of these paintings come to me out of dreams or meditative states. An example of one of these is "The Old Ones," pictured above. I'm not quite sure how this happens, how complete paintings simply show up in my mind and demand to be painted. These pieces seem to be mixtures of different aspects of my personality - varied interests, things I've seen or thought about, bits of history, myths, and many other things. Maybe it's just something as straightforward as Interests + Experiences + Thoughts + Incubation Time = A Painting. Or maybe, just maybe, there is some kind of mystical being like a muse that helps inspire us to create something truly new.

The rest of the "Textures" paintings are on-the-fly, intuitive combinations of things that just seem to go together. My biggest fascinations are history, cultures, stories/myths, and animals, so I will often intuitively combine various elements from a culture into a painting. A lot of research goes into some of these paintings too - researching the history, cultures, myths, stories, and animals helps these paintings "feel" more authentic to me. For example, I might make sure that a particular animal I depict has a range that overlaps the culture showcased in the painting. I guess it's the scientist in me who wants to make sure that the details are generally right!

How do I set the stage for this type of creative inspiration to happen?

I read and research constantly. As I said before, these things are passionate interests for me so I'm constantly reading about them. My library card is well-used, and I visit museums as often as I can. I just absorb this stuff like a sponge - not because I have to, but simply because I love it. If I wasn't a painter I'd still be reading about Lakota history, visiting Mayan and Ancient Pueblo ruins in North and Central America, and searching out new-to-me rock art sites.

Maybe what happens is that this information just knocks around in the back of my brain for a while until one day, my subconscious simply puts the "right" items together into a painting and voila! There it is in my mind's eye, ready to be put on canvas.

Or maybe there really are muses, nudging us along, helping us to create. Sometimes I like this explanation better...



All text and pictures copyright Nancy Rynes, 2014. You may link to this page, but please do not copy text or photos for any reason without my written permission.

White Mountains Rock Art Site, Wyoming

A gem of an art gallery awaits you if you dare to venture off the interstate at Rock Springs, Wyoming. Along a cliff face, about 45 minutes north of town, lies a site that holds both ancient and historical art. Today, we call the site the White Mountain Petroglyphs.

The cliff face that holds the ancient art

Thousands of depictions of humans, animals, and abstract figures line the cliff face and the insides of the small caves dotting the area. Some of the earliest glyphs were carved over 1000 years ago, while the more recent are 150-200 years old.

A small Elk/Deer Petroglyph (about 8 inches long)

The most fascinating part of the site to me are the incised hand prints. Ancient or modern, the ways human hands made an imprint in this rock over time fascinated me. With these hand impressions, the ancients left very personal touches here, and maybe something of their spirit too.

Hand imprints gouged into the sandstone

 Further along the cliff face, a few of the more modern drawings in stone show horses:

A horse drawing incised into the wall of a cave

A horse and rider glyph, defaced by modern-day blue chalk (do not do this)

If you visit, you'll note that a few modern people have defaced some of the ancient art by chalking outlines. Please do not do this! I know, it's tempting as some of the art can be difficult to see at some times of the day. But please leave the chalk at home. The chemicals and chemical pigments in the chalk can permanently damage the art. And most of the time we modern humans chalk the outlines wrong, anyway.

Your best bet is to photograph the art in the mid to late afternoon, then use photo editing software to manipulate the image to bring out the artwork.

Two small bears incised into the rock.

Another bear figure

Make sure to walk the entire length of the cliff face - there are thousands of individual glyphs here and it takes time and a good eye to see them all. Some of my personal favorites are the bison panel and coyote/wolf glyph, below:

The bison panel

Depictions of bear paw prints

A very large glyph of an Elk or Deer (about 5 ft long)

Coyote/Wolf glyph

Coyote/Wolf glyph, manipulated to highlight the art

I love this ancient art because it gives me a very tangible, human link to some of my ancestors. The people who created this art had a beautiful aesthetic sense, a great reverence for nature, and a ton of patience. I'm grateful that they left this legacy for us to enjoy and learn from.

Best Time To Visit:

Mid to late afternoon is best to visit. The sun angle is better for viewing and photographing the art later in the day.


The Site:

• Please do not deface the site in any way. Don't mark up the rock art, and please don't leave trash behind.
• Pit toilets are available at the parking area.
• The site is child-friendly.
• The site is not easily accessible by traditional wheelchairs. 
• You may share the trail into the site with some friendly cattle. Please do not approach them or disturb them in any way.

Precautions:

• Watch out for Rattlesnakes and Horse Flies during the warmer months.
• Avoid the area after a rainstorm - the roads will be extremely slick with wet clay and almost impassible.
• Make sure you have enough fuel in your vehicle.
• Carry extra water and food.
• Take sunscreen and a hat if visiting during the heat of the day.

Getting There:

• Travel north on Hwy 191 from Rock Springs, WY. 
• About 10 miles north of town, turn right onto a dirt road that is marked by a sign for the Petroglyphs.
• Continue on this road for about 14 miles and watch for another sign for the Petroglyphs...turn Left onto the dirt road leading to the site.
• After about 3 miles you'll come to the parking area for the Petroglyphs. Park here.
• Walk about 1/3 mile along the footpath to the actual Petroglyphs - the Petroglyphs will be along the lower cliff face to your right.

Other Info:  

http://www.tourwyoming.com/things-to-do/attractions/white-mountain-petroglyphs.html

And More Horse Paintings

Determined to follow my heart more in my art, I've devoted a bit more time to paintings of horses.

My Romani/Gypsy ancestry led me to seek out and paint the Gypsy Vanner breed:

"Gypsy Braids" Oil on Panel, 16"x20"

And my love of all things wild and enduring brought me back to the mustang:

"Wild Child" Oil on Canvas, 12"x16"

"Wild Heart"  Oil on canvas, 14"x18"

"Making Friends" Oil on Panel, 18"x24"

I think I'll hang with the mustang paintings for a while - I have a lot of territory and history to explore with these horses. I should have a lot of fun, and I hope you enjoy the journey too!

Creativity and Brain Trauma - My Experience So Far

Some of you may know that in January of 2014, I was involved in a serious accident that resulted in a long stay in the hospital, many broken bones in my spine, and a moderately serious head trauma (TBI - traumatic brain injury). While the broken bones are taking their time to heal, tt's the head trauma that has impacted my creativity and work life more than anything else...and in ways I hadn't expected.

My TBI affected my left frontal and temporal lobes. These are areas of the brain traditionally thought to be responsible for most of our analytical abilities, language/communication, mood, decision-making, memory, and motor function. It's a complex and inexact science and no one can really predict how someone will be affected by a particular blow to the brain. Also, over time the brain will at least partially heal and some functions may return to the once-damaged area, or may be handled by a different part of the brain.

Initially, my memory for recent events and matching names with faces was seriously impaired. On the day I returned to the office, six weeks after the crash, I went all day without being able to remember the names of most of my coworkers - these were folks I'd worked with for 18 months and had great working relationships with. It was unbelievably frustrating to stare at the face of a friend and not be able to access his or her name. Yep, I shed more than a few tears of frustration over this!

I also had difficulties with word-finding, particularly when speaking. My brain would often just go on hold and I couldn't come up with the words that I wanted to speak or write. I could "see" the concept that I was trying to communicate in my head, but I couldn't verbalize it.

But the biggest negative impact has been on my analytical, technical, and programming abilities. This type of work was my "day job" for the last 20 years, and now I'd sit in front of my computer screen, not able to remember even the basics of programming or how to write technical documentation. I felt even more frustration, sadness, and fear when I realized this ability was now gone.

Most of these effects continue to get better - my abilities to associate names with faces seems to be back to normal. My short-term memory has improved drastically, although my analytical and technical abilities have as yet to return.

But on a very positive note, I didn't expect that my creativity would soar during this time!

Maybe it's the fact that my inner critic is now silent that has allowed my creativity to grow. If that's the case, I hope it's mute forever! Or perhaps with the loss of my analytical and technical abilities, my creative side has figuratively been given room to soar.

I'm not sure the cause, but I do see the outcome. And I LOVE it!

I'm more efficient and focused at the easel than I have ever been before. My ability to come up with an original idea for a painting, and then execute it, has never been this good. My color mixing abilities have never been better, and new ideas for paintings flow to me constantly.

I feel as though I am totally in the groove of painting, and it's absolutely wonderful!

I'm sure that everyone who has a TBI comes away with different experiences and outcomes - some good, some not-so-good. I'm grateful that something as traumatic as a brain injury can have a welcome, positive outcome.

Will I ever get back my technical abilities? At this point, my doctor isn't sure. It will likely be another 12 months before we know that - that will be the summer of 2015. But in the meantime, I'm going to exercise my more creative brain to its utmost and see where it takes me!

A New Take on an Old Subject

The first painting I ever did was of a horse. I was probably eight years old when I started adding watercolor paint to my pen drawings. I probably shouldn't put this out there over respect for my art career, but here is one of those early equine pieces:

I guess it's not a surprise that I started off my art life by drawing and painting horses - I grew up on a small farm in rural Illinois and part of our menagerie included several horses. Some were cantankerous and spirited, others were gentle and just wanted to be loved. One I claimed for mine. His name was Indian and he was a small paint horse, just my size and calm enough for a rambunctious child to easily handle.

"Spirited" Oil on panel, 10"x8"

Indian was a real sweetheart and cemented my love for all paint horses, everywhere.

But after college I grew out of my need to depict horses in my paintings. At that time I was more fascinated by wild critters, like elk and moose, than I was our domesticated friends. That's changed for me with recent excursions to photograph some of the west's herds of wild mustangs. Watching and photographing them has re-ignited my love of painting horses, and of paint horses, over the last few months.

"Dust Devil" Oil on panel, 9"x12"

This summer, it's my intent to once again explore the artistic world of horses both in these smaller vignette paintings and in larger, more expansive works. The larger pieces (in progress) capture the spirit of the west's mustangs and the vastness of the landscapes they inhabit.

Why go back and explore a subject I turned away from? Well, I guess it's that I've always enjoyed horses and it's time to just admit it. While I may never own one or ride them very often, I admire their beauty, energy, grace, intuition, and emotions. These days, too, I feel more comfortable with my painting process and think I'm better able to do them justice than I was 30 or 40 years ago.

So stay tuned....

Letting Go, Moving On

Sometimes life seems to throw us a curve ball. The breakup of a marriage, death of a parent, a traumatic accident, loss of a job - any of these can catch us by surprise and cause us to feel angry, depressed, and victimized. We might even ask "Why me, what did I do to deserve this?" It might feel as though we're wandering in a maze of darkness, loneliness, and isolation, cut off from the life we knew.

Es Siq, Jordan

Last night, a friend of mine commented on my upbeat attitude and positive outlook on life and wondered how I could maintain it. After all, he said, you deserve to feel victimized after what you went through these last couple of months. He wondered why I wasn't angry or bitter with the person who caused the injuries that almost left me paralyzed.

I'll admit that there was a time where wallowing in anger and self-pity is exactly what I'd be doing right now. But when I was 23, I met someone whose message forever changed how I looked at these tough events in our lives.

During the summer of 1989, Andrews University and the Government of Jordan hired me to be an archaeological artist on a dig just outside of Amman. My job was to draw each object found on the dig - no small task since the dig encompassed three sites, the smallest being the size of an American football field, and the timespan of the dig ran back to 3000 B.C.E.

Madaba Plains Project dig site, 1989, Amman

I had a lot of antiquities to draw but even then, I still had time to wander through Amman and soak up the culture.

Roman theater in Amman

On one of my forays into the city, I stopped at a small shop that sold ice cream and a bewildering array of confections. Jordanians love their sweets! The owner of the store, a man of about 55 to 60 years old, surprised me by striking up a conversation. Now this was very unusual for 1989 in Jordan - to have an older, married man start a conversation with a young, unmarried, foreign woman just wasn't done. But he explained that he had gone to college in the US and just wanted a chance to practice his English.

He stood about six feet tall and wore the typical jellabiya (long white linen robe) of Jordan. His face was classic Arabic - beautiful aquiline nose, lean, sharp features, dark brown eyes, and very tan, weathered skin. His build strong but lean. And he spoke flawless English.

During the course of the conversation, he let on that he was Palestinian.

Fear clutched at my belly. The late 1980s saw a lot of unrest between Palestinian terrorists and Israel, and I had no idea what this man in front of me was capable of. During the few months I'd been here, several innocent people had died in border skirmishes. The danger was real. I was here, alone, no one at the dig knew exactly where I was. My first thought was: I'm going to be a hostage. Dumb Dumb Dumb. 

I think he saw the fear on my face and reassured me that I was safe. His smile and easy, relaxed demeanor allowed me to let my guard down a little.

I gathered my courage and asked him how he felt about the terrorism, the hatred felt between some of the Palestinians and Israelis. I wanted to know how it had impacted him and his people, and if there was a way out of the circle of violence and anger.

He said that the violence greatly saddened him, that it was time to just let all of this anger and bitterness go and get on with the job of living in peace with each other. I asked if he really thought it was possible, to just let it go and move on with life.

He responded by telling me about himself: how in 1948, when he was a young man still living with his parents just outside of Jerusalem, American and British soldiers knocked on the door of his family's home one night. He said that the soldiers gave them only a few hours to pack up their belongings, to leave the home the family had lived in for over 350 years, and move.

They had no idea where they would go. They were now refugees.

In time, the family ended up in Amman where his father was able to start a small business. Eventually, the son studied in America but came home upon graduation and helped with the business. By all accounts, this man in front of me said he had a good life: a beautiful wife and children, a business, a home, good health, but he admitted to missing the family home he knew and loved as a child. Although, he said, no family home was worth the violence gripping his people.

I asked him if he himself was angry or bitter, if he harbored any resentment towards Americans or Brits. His answer moved me to tears and has stuck with me to this day.

No, he explained, while he missed his home, what's done is done.  At first, he was angry  about losing his family's home but he quickly realized that there was no point wallowing in negativity. Doing so would ruin the life that he was living now. He preferred to focus on the wonderful things he did have. He said the United Nations forces were doing what they thought was right. And too, the Jewish people did deserve a home after what they'd been through...this  man's only wish was that the UN and Israel would have given the Palestinians a chance to stay and live in peace with the new government. He believed it was possible, and still believed it was possible, but he understood the situation too.

He said that happiness was a choice...so was living a life of hatred and bitterness. His preference was to live a happy, peaceful life and get along with those around him.

What I realized was that he had wandered through a maze of anger and decided to come out into the light. Once he made the choice of happiness, a beautiful life unfolded...

I remember this man every time I even start to feel bad about events in my life. He is right - what happens to us, happens. Often we have no control over it. But how we choose to go forward with our life is completely up to us. We can waste our time being angry or bitter, or we can let it go and embrace joy and happiness.

I don't know about you, but I choose to focus on being happy...

For more information about the exodus from Palestine, see Plan Dalat on Wikipedia.org.

All text and pictures copyright Nancy Rynes, 2014. You may share links to this page, but please do not copy text or photos without my written permission.