Jaguar

Oil on Birchwood Panel | 29.5″ x 23.5″

“This Jaguar with its piercing emerald green eyes, draws the viewer in, intently gazing at something behind us. Whiskers twitching, ears alert, tense muscles under that spotty fur. The largest cat in the Americas, and third largest in the world, I wanted this piece to evoke the strength and power of Jaguars.

As I worked on it, stroke by stroke it became a big, imposing and intense presence in the studio. When I finished work in the evening, I found it would hold my gaze, it’s eyes the last thing I saw before I turned off the light. I can’t tell you what it’s thinking, or what its next move will be, but I do know it’s hard to think about anything else while you’re in the room with it.

Painted from reference taken by Lisette Nieuwenhuizen.

I paint using the “wet on wet” technique, which means I build up the layers of colour and texture in small sections at a time. Not waiting for the paint beneath to dry, but pulling my brush through the wet paint, creating clean and precise marks.”