Watercolour Wednesday: Fox Nap

Fox Nap - 9x12" watercolour

A little red fox taking a break for a warm nap in her den.

I have been wanting to paint something with this sort of blue hue and bright red in a long time, and this idea came to mind. I was going to name this piece somewhere along the lines of hibernation - but then I found out that red foxes do not hibernate through the winter months. Oh well, this little lovely is having a sound snooze in her den before she braves the cold again.

The original painting is available for sale on Etsy.

Here is the progress of painting the fox:

1. First I pencil sketch her onto my watercolour paper. Putting items / animals with my trees take a bit more planning, drawing-wise:


2. Next I colour her in with a 'flood' of Cadium Red. I don't start my shading just yet. But I do 'reserve' the white portion of her tail. I let this dry before I continue.
2. Next I add in shading along the outlines of my dear Ms. Fox, as well as shadows in 'deeper' portion her her body. I do this by adding small amounts of Prussian Blue and building up the layers and outlines. And then she's done!