here kitty, kitty...........................here kitty, kitty..........................

Francesca's gold leaf and watercolor painting

 WWF & WCS Siberian tiger in custody of Dr. John Goodrich

This is a different angle of my big kitty!

Dr. John Goodrich at work with a tranquilized tiger in Russia

This gold leaf watercolor painting was probably the hardest painting I have ever created. What makes this so unique is the shadowing technique with numerous shades and materials to create the tones of his face.


O.k., for example, instead of just layering different hues of one color of paint to get the rust and golden tones, I needed to think ahead very carefully. I worked with the few limited shades of gold leaf I had ranging from copper, yellow gold, brass tones with gold leaf powders, paints, paper sheets and flakes. 


The planning went very slow testing whether the tone differential was enough to create dept he needed. In the end, I was very pleased as I knew how hard this challenge was that I placed in front of me.


I hope to exhibit my BEAUTY OF THE BEAST - TIGERS FACING EXTINCTION fine art traveling show here in Spoleto when the frames arrive from an American friend and sponsor.


My guess is it will be before the spring of 2012 as we both have issues to work out in our lives. I'll keep you all informed!