Spirit Animal
18″x24″ Oil on Canvas
The creation of this painting was inspired by reference photos of my lovely model. I also had an idea that I wanted this cool theme, but wanted some major areas of contrast so her body wouldn’t be the focus of the painting. To do that I surrounded her black hair with a white “halo.” This adds the pop that lets you look at her face before you move to the rest of the painting. Lately, I have been considering my composition a lot in advance of painting.
This is the final painting, although the white balance on this photo is a bit on the warm side. The background is a dark, dark blue, which is enough to really come out with the strong contrast of golds and yellows I used in the background that are mirrored in her headpiece. She is wearing a rattlesnake tail with turquoise – reminiscent of her background of growing up in the Southwest, and her spirit animal, the Rattlesnake. She wears shells in her hair to show that she has traveled to the ocean, and moved a long way from the desert she first belonged to.
Also she’s hot.
Thanks for reading.
K.L. Britton 