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| Wet washes on the body with burnt orange and quin. violet. The entire marmot was painted using orange, violet and indanthrone. |
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| Darkening his fur ... |
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... and still more ... |
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| I did two gradated washes to the line where sea meets sky, both using phthalo blue and indanthrone. |
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Lightly painted some distant islands, and started giving a rocky look to his rock. |
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| 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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