Eyes of the Wolf

'Eyes of the Wolf' was done some years ago but continues to get attention from my visitors so I thought it was worth another showing. This pastel was worked on suedeboard, which gives 'fur' a lovely texture. Pastel colours used were Vandyke Brown 8, Burnt Sienna 4, Yellow Ochre, some Black and touches of Cerulean Blue. Finishing pastel pencils were pale blue and the extremely useful Faber Castell 270. This is a light grey but picks up the colours you use it over and makes blending fur easier.

This study was done after visiting some European wolves near Bedford in the UK. One of the male wolves reared up and looked into my eyes - a most unexpected happening! He had his paws on my shoulders and this made me realize just how huge wolves are and what a lovely subject his eyes would be in a pastel. (The original of this study is now with collectors in New Mexico.)

There are many photos from the wolf encounter and I hope to do more studies in the future. They certainly are beautiful animals so it is understandable that they have inspired artists for so many years.