One Cool Kitty-Kat

Drawing an Ocelot

Prints, posters, stationery cards, and signed fine art reproductions  

are available for purchase in my Etys shop at: 

 www.etsy.com/shop/TimJeffsArt

Ocelot. 11x17" Ballpoint Pen and Ink wash

I recently visited our local county zoo at Van Saun Park in Paramus, New Jersey which has an Ocelot in captivity, and as soon as I saw it, this amazing looking animal had "draw me" written all over it! Beautiful patterns cover this small cat. Also know at the dwarf leopard, just a perfect nickname, the ocelot looks very much like a domestic cat, but with an amazing patterned fur coat that resembles a jaguar or leopard. So when I started sketching out a composition I really wanted to capture this crossover between domestic and wild animals. I love how house cats patiently sit in a position staring at something intensely, and at any moment they snap out of that trance and pounce with incredible speed. So i decided to try to capture that moment right before they jump! 

Living throughout South and Central America Ocelots have been sighted as far north as southern Texas and Arizona. Ocelots were killed in the Hundreds of Thousands for their fur and were classified as "vulnerable" until 1996 when they were protected. They are now considered "least concern" due to these conservation efforts. They are nocturnal and very territorial. Ocelots have been know to be kept as pets, and Salvador Dali being the most famous owner traveled with his pet Ocelot named "Babou". 

Salvador Dali and his pet Ocelot "Babou"

Here are some photos taken during my drawing process

Here's the finished drawing

Prints, posters and signed fine art reproductions are available 

for purchase in my Etys shop at: 

 www.etsy.com/shop/TimJeffsArt

Bearing a White Out

Drawing a Polar Bear

Prints, posters, stationery cards, and signed fine art reproductions  

are available for purchase in my Etys shop at: 

 www.etsy.com/shop/TimJeffsArt

Polar Bear. 11x17" Ballpoint Pen and Ink wash

With adult males standing 8-9 feet tall and weighting up to 1700 pounds, Polar Bears are the largest land carnivores in the world. There are an estimated 20-25,000 left in the wild, therefore classifying them as a vulnerable species.  It's scientific name "Ursus maritimus" means "maritime bear" because they spend much of their time on the Arctic sea ice in search of prey. They are incredibly adapted for the cold with thicker fur than other bears, a layer of blubber under the fur for buoyancy and insulation, and a streamlined long neck for swimming in the water and warming the air that they breath.

Attempting to draw a completely white animal with only black ink is something that's quite a challenge. And unlike most of the animals that I draw the Polar Bear doesn't have spots or patterns, but only a stark white coat of fur. Therefore it felt like almost a test of "can I do this" animal. I hope I succeeded.

Polar Bear. original photograph by AA Rosenfeld

The inspiration for this drawing came directly from an amazing photograph that AA Rosenfeld took of a Polar Bear (above). Alvin is a friend and amazing photographer. He does wildlife photography all over the world, included underwater photography, and his work is just spectacular! He graciously gave me permission to use his work as reference. You can see and purchase his amazing photographs at Images of Old Greenwich here www.imagescenter.com. Thanks again Alvin for you generosity! The one aspect I decided to change from the photo was that I wanted to make the bear appear to be looking directly back at the viewer as he walked by. So I added in the turned eye to stare the viewer down! I hope you enjoy my take on this wonderful animal.

"Finding what is hidden beneath the surface, bringing the 
unseen to light, uncovering the unknown."

 -AA Rosenfeld

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

A Spring Snow

Drawing a Snow Leopard

Prints, posters, stationery cards, and signed fine art reproductions  

are available for purchase in my Etys shop at: 

 www.etsy.com/shop/TimJeffsArt

Snow Leopard. 11x17" Ballpoint Pen and Ink wash

The ultimate cool cat! The Snow Leopard is one of those animals that looks too beautiful to be true. Almost like an apparition, it is extremely elusive and secretive, lives in remote mountainous regions, and is incredibly well camouflaged which makes it very hard to see. Sadly it is also extremely endangered with estimates of only 4,000 to 7,000 left in the wild today. In 2008 it was placed on the Red List of threatened species. For all those reasons I just had to add this majestic cat to my list of "Big Cat" drawings. It has always been one of my favorites.

Snow Leopard. original photograph by Anthony Festa

The inspiration for this drawing came directly from an amazing photograph that Anthony Festa took of a Snow Leopard. Anthony is a friend and amazing photographer. He does landscape, nature, and wildlife photography and his work is stunning! He graciously gave me permission to use his work as reference. You can see and purchase his photos on his website at selectimagesphotographycom. Thanks again Anthony for you generosity! The only thing I decided to change from the photo was that to Snow Leopard's look appeared slightly timid to me, so I tried to achieve a more confident stare and demeanor. I hope I was successful.

This time I took a lot more photos as I progressed through the drawing. Since people have been asking me more about my working process I thought more pictures will make it clearer. On this piece I started with a fine pencil sketch of the basic outline of the Leopard. After that the pencil is exchanged for my pen. It's all pen work from this point on. I usually always start some where on the animals face. This gives me the opportunity to breath life into the drawing, and then I slowly expand to finish the overall body. Drawing fur has always been a challenge for me. I feel I gained some knowledge this go around. I work from light to dark and begin by applying very little pressure to the pen as I let it glide across the paper. This let me draw the finest of lines. To achieve the darker areas I slowly build up those areas with layers of lines. After I have finished the inking of the animal I start brushing in the background with india ink. I love cutting out the animal. It almost feels like creating a sculpture to me. I do this with Pro Art India Ink. It's very thick and covers the papers quickly. I've noticed that different bottles have different consistencies of thickness, so I mix them to get that perfect flow. Thanks again for dropping by, and taking the time to visit my blog! It's onto the next animal for me!

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

Tapir-ing Off

Drawing a Baby Tapir

Prints, posters and signed fine art reproductions are available 

for purchase in my Etys shop at: 

 www.etsy.com/shop/TimJeffsArt

Baby Tapir. 11x17" Ballpoint Pen and Ink wash

When it comes to my list of favorite animals it starts with 1) Rhino, 2) Elephant, and 3) tapir. I love animals that look like they've lived on the planet since the dinosaurs ruled, and these three creatures definitely fit that role perfectly. The tapir showed up about 20-30 million years ago, and are actually decedents of rhinoceroses and horses. That's pretty cool fact!

Something that always struck me about the tapir is the contrasting look between an adult tapir and the infant. The infant tapir has an incredible camouflage spot pattern that is so unique and only last during infancy, while the adult has a very plain looking hide. The  detailed patterning hinds the baby from predators, and is lost as the tapir matures. Naturally I had to draw a baby. Their extremely cool looking black and white pattern on the baby tapir just screamed "draw me"!

Besides my aquatic creatures, this was one of my first full body animal drawings. I always find it challenging to draw the whole animal since so much of my art focuses in on the extreme detail of the animals features. But this time it just worked so well. I hope to do a whole series of full body animals too, so I'll consider this one the first in a series.

Today, all four species of tapir are considered to be endangered. This is mainly due to deforestation and habitat loss, and over hunting of tapirs by humans.

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

Jenna's "Isadora"

Drawing a 3-toed Sloth

Prints, posters, signed fine art reproductions, and cards are available 

for purchase in my Etys shop at: 

 www.etsy.com/shop/TimJeffsArt

"Isadora" the 3-toed Sloth. 11x17" Ballpoint Pen and Ink wash

When I asked my daughter Jenna which animal I should draw next she didn't hesitate for second, she said a Sloth! And not only did she say a sloth she said "Isadora". Jenna has an extremely deep love of sloths. And actually the sloth that was the model for this ink drawing was one that Jenna literally had a up close encounter with while me and my family were vacationing in Costa Rica last summer. Costa Rica is incredible! If you haven't gone yet, GO! The people are so friendly, the landscape is amazing, the rain forests are captivating, the wildlife diverse and spectacular. 

Jenna had a mission on her trip to Costa Rica. Finding her very own sloth in the wilderness all by herself. As we spent the week going from the volcanic mountainous area of Arenal, to the cloud forest of Monteverde, to the coastal rainforest of Manual Antonio Jenna's eyes were peeled for a sloth hanging in the tree tops. On the 2nd day of our trip she saw her first wild sloth moving from one tree to another, but it was spotted by someone else riding in a van on our way to catch a boat ride across Lake Arenal, so to Jenna this didn't count. Over the next few days we had 3 more sightings. Two sightings by our rain forest guide in the Monteverde Cloud Forest, and one by a Coffee plantation worker while visiting Don Juan. Again, these didn't count for Jenna. 

She was getting discouraged and by our very last day her hope had pretty much faded. After a very long and beautiful walk in Manual Antonio National Park through the coast rain forest we stopped on the beach for a picture in front of an iguana that was sunning itself. Just as I finished taking the picture Jenna screamed (with Joy). A sloth was climbing down the tree directly behind her and was already almost at her eye level. She was the first to see it, she claimed it as hers and named it on the spot..."Isadora".

Sloths are incredible creatures to watch in the wild if you are lucky enough to see them when they are on the move. Their movements are so slow and deliberate it is almost to hard to explain. You have to see it with your own eyes. We stopped and watched Isadora in amazement for almost an hour. It was truly a special moment. 

I'm not going to go into details about sloths here. But if you really want a good read about this amazing animal read this article The Sloth’s Busy Inner Life from the New York Times. It explain them in a whole other light.

And if you want to help sloths you can make donatations to the Sloth Sanctuary in Costa Rica.

Jenna sighting her very own Sloth in Costa Rica
and naming it "Isadora"

"Isadora" climbing right down the tree to her

"Isadora" stops and poses for the camera

The green color in their fur is actually a species of algae

"Isadora" changing trees

A close up

"Isadora" stops to look back at us from her new spot high up in a tree

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