Painting with Purpose: How I Created a Dual-Pose Dhole Portrait

Dholes, also known as Asiatic wild dogs, are vibrant wild canines native to India and are considered an endangered species. Despite not being widely discussed, they are highly social creatures that live in large groups with established hierarchies. About the size of a German Shepherd, these animals have slender bodies and rust or red-colored fur.

Why I Chose the Dhole...

I've long aspired to paint endangered species to promote awareness through my art. The dhole, India's wild forest dog, possesses a truly captivating presence. It can be calm and alert one moment, and fiercely expressive the next. I aimed to capture both of these personalities in a single piece, the composed gaze alongside the raw, open-mouthed energy.

I started searching for reference photos and was lucky to get permission from photographer Gerard Carr to use some of his images for my artwork.

Merging two different Photos into one artwork...

I began with two distinct photographs:

• One featuring a stunning, focused side profile

• The other capturing an expressive, wide-open yawn

Each image conveyed a unique narrative, and merging them enabled me to unite both emotions, a subtle blend of calmness and wildness.

My thought process...

Before sketching, I asked myself:

• Which emotion should lead the viewer’s eye?

• How can I balance the quiet and the dramatic?

• How do I make two unrelated images feel like one natural moment?

  
  

I positioned the calm face at the top as a stable anchor, with the expressive open mouth below to generate movement and energy. The subtle tilt and spacing between the two profiles contributed to a believable and harmonious composition.

This merging process is one of my favorite aspects of art: blending distinct moments into a single narrative.

Dual-Pose Dhole Portrait - The Painting process...

I composed the two photos on my ipad and used grid method to sketch correct proportions. The sketch was placed in the center of the paper. Then, as always, I painted the eyes first and then rest of the portrait. Though it looks like a limited colour palette, I have used a range of colours like burnt sienna, sepia, ultramarine blue, ochre, Payne's grey,cobalt blue, pink and red.

The initial washes were painted using wet-on-wet technique and then I added more layers by using wet on dry method. For the soft fur painting, I have also used charging method.

I arranged the two photos on my iPad and utilized the grid method to accurately sketch the proportions. The sketch was positioned at the center of the paper. As usual, I began by painting the eyes and then proceeded with the rest of the portrait. Although it appears to have a limited color palette, I incorporated a variety of colors such as burnt sienna, sepia, ultramarine blue, ochre, Payne's grey, cobalt blue, pink, and red.

The initial washes were applied using the wet-on-wet technique, followed by additional layers using the wet-on-dry method. For the soft fur painting, I also employed the charging method.

Overall, tiny whiskers, subtle light catches in the eyes, and a few textured strokes brought the dhole fully alive.

What this painting means to me..

This artwork serves as a reminder that animal portraits encompass more than just anatomy; they convey stories. Occasionally, a single reference photo doesn't suffice to capture the narrative. Sometimes, you need to craft the story yourself.

For me, this is the joy of painting wildlife in watercolor.

Prints and Original available on my website.