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Narek, mixed media, 8 x 10" (20 x 25 cm)
When I saw this hare captured in its natural habitat, it was the way that the fur caught the light, the look in the hare’s eye and the overall anticipation of movement
that gave me desire to re-create it in a textural way.

I work mainly in oils as they are versatile help convey the characteristics of fur The use of a palette knife to apply paint
and forgiving if adjustments need to be and feathers: the use of oils over paper on top of the paper recreates the layers and
made, but through training, exploration can create the layers of fur; torn paper can stiffness of the tufts of neck hair, whereas the
and experimentation, I have learnt how reflect a fringe of feathers. use of torn frayed edges of the handmade
using mixed media in the right places Notice with Gentle Giant the addition of paper on the ossicones (the giraffe’s horns),
can help add dimension, texture, colour, handmade paper on the face, over the top of captures the wisps of hair successfully.
emotion and movement to a piece. I have my original painting out, has added depth as Throughout all my paintings, I am
found using oils with various mediums, well as creating the soft, velvet surface of the constantly looking back to the reference
especially handmade paper, together giraffe’s coat, whilst the veins of the paper have photo. I am looking at the contrast between
with different application techniques, can mimicked the veins and muscle of the giraffe. the light and dark areas, the shapes and

Mixed Media Demonstration 123

Claire Groves_Demo.indd 123 6/17/16 1:47 PM