Pencil on paper (14"x8") 1999. Raleigh NC.
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I took a picture of the tropical vegetation in my last trip to India. I didn't know at that time that I would be able to use it in this picture. But as I looked at the scene I immediately knew that it will make a good background because of the sun filtering in through large leaves and struggling to go deeper in the thick foliage. After I developed the film I didn't find immediate use of and it sat there for a while.
One day I was watching a wildlife video on Jaguars. I really liked the big cat. And I wanted to do one jaguar picture. I was able to compose a jaguar in the picture I took in India and it started coming together. I created the effect of sunlight falling on the jaguar's face. Another challenge I faced was to create the hair on the eyebrows and the whiskers. I did not use an eraser. You can't get a clean hair using eraser. So I had to leave those areas untouched. It was painful work. Although it didn't come out clear in the scan. It looks good on the original.
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