Project 47: Ring-Tailed Lemur Baby

I met this baby ring-tailed lemur at the World Wildlife Exhibition in Gatlinburg, Tennessee, where I was showing my artwork. He was very cute with large eyes, a bushy tail and humanlike hands. The high point was when the baby lemur sat on my shoulder!

Reference Photo

1 Establish the Form

Lightly draw the baby lemur onto the panel in pencil, using a kneaded eraser to correct mistakes or lighten lines. With a no. 10 round and diluted Burnt Umber, paint the basic lines and shading.

2 Paint the Dark Values

Mix warm black with Burnt Umber and Ultramarine Blue. Paint the dark rings around the eyes, the pupils, the muzzle, the tail stripes and the shadows between the fingers and toes with a no. 10 round. For good coverage, paint two or three layers, allowing the paint to dry in between layers.

Mix dark brown with Burnt Umber, Burnt Sienna and Ultramarine Blue. Paint the dark shadow between the feet with a no. 10 round.

3 Paint the Background and the Middle Values

Mix reddish brown for the background with Burnt Sienna, Burnt Umber and Raw Sienna. Using separate no. 12 brights for each color, paint dark brown around the edges and reddish brown around the lemur. Use dabbing strokes, blending where the two colors meet.

Paint the eyes with reddish brown and a no. 3 round, blending the edges of the pupils with a separate brush and warm black.

Mix gray with Titanium White, Ultramarine Blue, Burnt Umber and a small amount of Burnt Sienna. With a no. 10 round, paint the fingers, the forearms, the top of the head and the shadows inside the ears.

Mix light brown for the fur with Titanium White, Raw Sienna and Burnt Sienna. Paint with a no. 8 bright.

Mix pink for the tongue with Cadmium Red Medium, Titanium White, Raw Sienna and Cadmium Orange. Paint with a no. 3 round.

Mix warm gray for the rock with Titanium White, Ultramarine Blue and Burnt Umber. Paint with a no. 12 bright, using a no. 10 round for painting around the contours of the feet and tail.

4 Paint the Light Values and Begin to Add Detail

Mix a yellow color for the fruit with Hansa Yellow Light, Titanium White and Cadmium Orange. Paint with a no. 10 round.

Make a warm white with Titanium White and a touch of Hansa Yellow Light. Paint with a no. 10 round with strokes following the fur pattern. Blend with a separate brush and the adjacent color.

Use warm gray and a no. 10 round to paint subtle shadows on the chest, head and toes. Paint fuzzy hairs from the outline of the lemur that overlap the background with slightly curving strokes of varying lengths that go in different directions.

Mix a shadow color for the toes and fur with portions of reddish brown, dark brown and light brown. Paint shadows on the toes, then begin to paint shadow detail in the fur.

5 Add More Detail

With warm black and a no. 10 round, add detail to the tail with long strokes and to the fingers with short strokes. Using separate no. 10 rounds for each color, use warm black, light brown and warm white to add detail to the fur with overlapping strokes.

Use the same technique to add detail to the chest with warm gray, warm black and warm white.

With separate no. 3 rounds for warm black and warm white, refine and add detail to the fingers. Paint the feet with warm white and light brown, using warm black for shadows and detail.

Darken and refine the shape of the muzzle and dark eye rings with warm black and a no. 10 round. Add fur detail to the head with light brown and warm white.

AFTERNOON SNACK

Acrylic on Gessobord

9” × 12” (23cm × 30cm)

6 Paint the Finishing Details

Mix a blue highlight color for the nose with a warm white mixed with a touch of Ultramarine Blue. Mix a pinkish highlight color for the tongue with a bit of pink and warm white. Paint both with separate no. 3 rounds.

Mix a warm tan for the eyes with Titanium White, Raw Sienna and a touch of Cadmium Orange. Paint with a no. 3 round, blending with reddish brown and a separate brush. When dry, paint a very thin glaze of Cadmium Orange and water over the warm tan. Paint highlights in the eyes with small arcs of Titanium White using a no. 3 round.

Paint eyelid detail in the black eye rings with the blue highlight color and a no. 3 round. Blend with warm black.

Paint a glaze of Cadmium Orange and water over the yellow fruit. With a no. 3 round, add detail to the head with light brown, blending with a separate brush and warm white. Add detail to the feet using no. 3 rounds with light brown, warm white and warm black. Add highlights to the fruit between the paws with warm white.

Mix a rock shadow color with a portion of reddish brown, light brown and dark brown, and paint with a no. 8 bright from the bottom on up. When dry, paint a couple more pieces of fruit near the lemur’s feet.

Paint cast shadows from the tail and fruit on the rock with some dark brown mixed with a bit of the rock shadow color. Mix a whisker color with a bit of gray and warm gray. Use a no. 3 round and a small amount of paint to make feathery, slightly curving strokes from the eyebrows, cheeks and chin.