ENDANGERED SPECIES - VANCOUVER ISLAND MARMOT

Wet washes on the body with burnt orange and quin. violet. The entire marmot was painted using orange, violet and indanthrone.

Darkening his fur ...

... and still more ... 

I did two gradated washes to the line where sea meets sky, both using phthalo blue and indanthrone.

Lightly painted some distant islands, and started giving a rocky look to his rock. 

My Rock
10.25 x 6.25 inches framable size
AVAILABLE FOR PURCHASE
I wanted to give the marmot the look that this is his home, and he is not letting go of it.

This adorable beastie is a local - the Vancouver Island marmot, the only uniquely Canadian species of marmot. He lives on the south- and west-facing alpine meadows of the island.  Those long claws and powerful shoulders are for digging for food and making burrows for hibernation. He's hefty - up to 2 1/2 feet long, weighing up to 17 pounds. It is believed the reason for the great decline in numbers [since the mid-1990's] is due to predation by wolves, cougars and golden eagles. There is a captive breeding program on the island, whereby adults are caught and allowed to breed safely, then they and the pups are released back into their natural habitat. It sounds like a logical plan; with their colonies very reduced in numbers, there are no or few potential mates - this program brings them together.

I remember seeing a yellow-bellied marmot in the most unlikely place - the backyard of my mother's house in Kerrisdale in Vancouver. I drove into the back driveway, and there he was, standing on his hind legs looking at me! of course, no-one believed me.

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ENDANGERED SPECIES - THE GREATER BILBY

Wet in wet washes of burnt orange and a grey-blue [indanthone, quin. pink and burnt orange].

Playing with the aforementioned colors in different combinations, still wet in wet.

Getting into the nitty-gritty of the fur - small strokes with a fine brush, building up the layers.

Some "ground" - burnt orange, with a bit of orange and quin. violet for contrast.

Greater Bilby
14.5 x 11.5 inches
37 x 29.5 cm.
AVAILABLE FOR PURCHASE

Meet the greater bilby, also known in Australia as the Easter Bilby - the name is part of a campaign to raise awareness to its endangered state. This little cutie is about the size of a rabbit, and has keen hearing and sense of smell, but poor eyesight. He lives in hot, dry areas - grasslands, scrub areas. The reason for the decline in numbers is posited to be predation by foxes and feral cats, and to indirect competition for food with the rabbit population.
This is the first of my endangered species series. I have a deep love of Nature and animals, and feel this is the least I can do to [hopefully] help their plight.

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