Project 41: White-Tailed Deer

This young buck showed up on a thoroughbred horse farm in Midway, Kentucky. The deer had likely been raised by people since he had no fear of humans and would eat out of a horse bucket. The farm owners eventually gave him to a wild animal park to roam with a captive deer herd.

Reference Photo

1 Establish the Form

Lightly draw the deer in pencil on the panel, using a kneaded eraser to make corrections or lighten lines. Paint the basic lines and shading using a no. 10 round and Burnt Umber thinned with water.

2 Paint the Dark Values

Mix dark brown with Burnt Umber and Ultramarine Blue. Paint the darkest areas with a no. 10 round.

3 Paint the Middle Values

Mix a green field color with Hooker’s Green Permanent, Burnt Umber, Cadmium Orange, Naples Yellow and Titanium White. Paint smooth, horizontal strokes with a no. 10 round.

To paint the deer’s coat and antlers, mix medium brown with Burnt Umber, Burnt Sienna, Cadmium Orange and Titanium White. With a no. 10 round, use brushstrokes that follow the hair pattern.

4 Paint the Light Values

Mix pink with Titanium White, Naples Yellow, Cadmium Orange and small amounts of Cadmium Red Medium and Burnt Sienna. Paint parallel strokes inside the ears and around the nostril with a no. 10 round.

Mix a buff color for the highlighted areas of the coat with Titanium White, Cadmium Orange and Naples Yellow. Paint parallel strokes following the hair pattern with a no. 10 round. Blend the edges where colors meet with a separate no. 10 round and the adjacent color. Paint the antler highlights with buff and a no. 10 round.

Mix a blue shadow color with Titanium White and small amounts of Ultramarine Blue and Burnt Umber. Paint the shaded white areas (the muzzle, neck and base of the ear) with a no. 10 round, blending the edges with the adjacent color.

Mix a blue sky color with Titanium White, Ultramarine Blue and a small amount of Naples Yellow. Begin to paint with a no. 10 bright, using dabbing and semicircular strokes. Switch to a no. 10 round to paint around the deer’s outline.

5 Finish the Sky, Add Highlights and Begin Detail

Mix a lighter sky color with a portion of the blue sky color and Titanium White. Paint the sky at the horizon line, blending upward with a separate no. 10 bright and the blue sky color.

Mix a warm white with Titanium White and a touch of Naples Yellow. Paint the highlights on the ears, head, neck and antlers with a no. 10 round. Blend the edges with the adjacent color.

Mix warm black with Burnt Umber and Ultramarine Blue. Add dark accents to the ears, antlers and muzzle, and darken the eye with a no. 10 round. Paint dark detail in the coat with a no. 10 round, using light pressured strokes that follow the hair pattern. Use medium brown to add detail to the buff and blue shadow color areas. Lightly blend with the adjacent color.

NOBILITY

Acrylic on Gessobord

8” × 10” (20cm × 25cm)

6 Paint the Finishing Details

Continue to add dark detail to the coat, blending and softening with the medium brown and a separate brush. Use medium brown to add detail to the reflective part of the neck, softening and blending with warm white. Add lighter detail with buff and a no. 10 round, blending and softening with a separate brush and medium brown.

Add knobby detail to the base of the antlers and strengthen highlights on the antlers’ tines. Add detail to the muzzle and darken the underside of the chin. Paint a highlight in the eye with the blue sky color and a no. 3 round. Blend with warm black using a separate no. 3 round.

To paint the field’s horizon, mix a light brown tree line color with Titanium White, Burnt Umber and a touch of Burnt Sienna. Paint with a no. 10 round, using light, sketchy strokes.

Mix a field highlight color with Titanium White, Hooker’s Green Permanent, Cadmium Orange and Naples Yellow. Paint sketchy horizontal strokes over the grassy field. Add a few light touches of medium brown and blend with the green field.