Constricting Lines

Drawing a Boa Constrictor

Prints, posters and signed fine art reproductions are available 

for purchase in my Etys shop at: 

 www.etsy.com/shop/TimJeffsArt

Boa Constrictor. 11x17" Ballpoint Pen and Ink wash

I've always been fascinated by snakes. Behind the house that I grew up in as a child, in Maryland, was a large area of woods that my brother Tony and I would go searching for snakes to catch and keep as pets. Garter snakes, Rat snakes, Ringneck snakes, and Black snakes were some of the species we would find. We would rarely come across a copperhead, a poisonous snake, but would keep our distance knowing how dangerous it was. We would then bring our catches home and raise them in terrariums and add them to our large collection of found pets. I still can't believe our mother let us do this. Teenagers with a room full of turtles, snakes and fish. A friend of ours had a Boa Constrictor as a pet, and I'll never forget handling it for the first time. Watching its movements as it wrapped around my arm. Studying it complicated patterns and coloring.

The detail and complex patterns of snakes scales and coloring has always intrigued me, and drawing them has always been something I've enjoyed. But this time I wanted to challenge myself even more by not only drawing all of the intricate scales, but doing it on a subject that was twisted and wrapped. What amazed me as I drew it was the complex geometric patterns that a snakes scales create. Below are pictures I took as I drew the Boa. You can see that I literally skinned the snake from head to tail in a grid of lines. And my drawing doesn't come close to the detail of a snakes true skin. Mine is merely a representation. As always, Thank you so much for visiting my blog.

Here are some photos taken during my drawing process

Prints, posters and signed fine art reproductions are available 

for purchase in my Etys shop at: 

 www.etsy.com/shop/TimJeffsArt