Robert Bateman, Artist

This piece began as a demonstration in front of a master class of wildlife artists in Wyoming. I wanted to show them the evolution of a painting from concept to finish starting with a gessoed Masonite board. The most important part of the process is the struggling with the thinking and decisions. On my iPad I brought along some photos of Wyoming mammals including wolves, elk and bison. Then I went for a 2-hour drive in the countryside, camera in hand, looking for the habitat and the compositional idea. My eye fell on this bit of eroded, sandy bank which made me think of the Calgary Zoo bison’s flank. Then I played around with bold brush strokes, sketching on the blank board in front of the class, talking out loud and changing my mind many times. The ominous clouds and dark sky were not in the original scene but I needed them to bring out the blond highlights on the animal’s fur. Of course, I did not have time to finish it in the limited class time. That was done in succeeding weeks in the studio. The finishing touches are not that important. What really matters is the original thinking.