In A Pit With A Lion On A Snowy Day

This painting was inspired by one of my favorite books, “In A Pit With A Lion On A Snowy Day” by Mark Batterson. I originally painted this back in 2015 as a personal project, but forgot about it when I got busy with client work. The book is essentially about facing your fears head on. More so, it’s about how our greatest opportunities often present themselves as our greatest fears, such as a 500lb lion in this case.

2nd Packaging Illustration - Eclectus Parrot

Here’s the 2nd bird food packaging illustration. The male Eclectus Parrot is about land on a branch next to a female as she is eating a pandanus fruit. Plus, a smoking volcano and a sunrise in the background. This was quite a challenge!

Strangely enough, I feel like I can relate to this male bird whenever I find my wife snacking on something. “Hey! Whatcha eating!?” I say as I glide gracefully down on to the couch next to her.

Sun Conure Bird Packaging Illustration

This was an incredible opportunity to create packaging illustrations for a bird seed manufacturer in Australia called Vetafarm, Ltd. Depicted is a Sun Conure flying over a South American rainforest. I’m not sure if these products are in American stores but I’m hoping to run into these one day. Let me know if you do! Prints are available upon request.

***Click here to see my process in creating this illustration.*** 

The return to my Kerala portrait series

Getting back into my Kerala series again. It’s been too long! Here’s a quick, rough portrait.

Lion in sunlight - study

A study I did a while back. See process below. Painting starts with an airbrush just focusing on form, then I block in the darks and build up the lights. This method keeps me from getting too caught up in the details and more on the composition at first.  

Thanks for viewing!

Photo reference: Frans Lanting

#training #drawing #portraits #nospaceleftbehind

Lion Sketch