Projects

Lets see what I’m working on…

Endangered Species Collection

Coming Soon

Take a look at my painting process

Acrylic Painting

I finished a 24”x36” acrylic painting of a tiger. This is one if the largest pieces I’ve worked on but I am excited to start working on large canvases consistently. I do have to say, every piece goes through its “ugly phase”, and I feel like the larger the canvas, the longer the “ugly phase” lasts!

Lets start from the beginning…

I wanted to get a rough base to get started, but I was definitely fighting with trying to be expressive while still making it look like a semi realistic tiger. But then again, its just the base.

I started to like it more but all I could think about at this stage was “Balloon Head”. The proportions were off and it looked very bland and stiff.

Around the time I had decided to paint a tiger, I didn’t really feel any deeper connection to it other than just trying to improve my techniques. Yes I love animals and big cats are in my top favorites, so I suppose it made it an easy choice.

However, there was a moment when I almost scrapped the entire painting, considering starting afresh with a different composition. Fortunately, I persevered, gradually enhancing it with each step.

I started spending more time on the eyes, the windows to the soul, and I started to feel more connected to it. I felt the tiger starting to come alive but overall I still was not happy with the entire piece.

I was in the process of moving so I went about 2 months without painting. I think it helped to get that much time away so I could look at it with fresh eyes. However, that is not a very convenient process when you need to work fast.

This is how the piece looked for two months while I was moving. It looks… fine, kind of flat, no story. So I decided to create an inspiration board on my Milanote to come up with some ideas.

I wanted to add more depth to the piece by placing my tiger within its natural environment. I took a good picture of the painting and uploaded it to my iPad. I decided to incorporate leaf shadows to evoke the sense of the tiger either hiding or stalking. I researched various plant references to understand how shadows interact with different objects.

Interestingly, I discovered that the choice of plant significantly influenced the narrative and mood surrounding the tiger. Leaves with rounded shapes conveyed a more endearing and approachable vibe, whereas fern-shaped leaves cast sharper, more menacing shadows. This realization shaped my vision—I wanted the tiger to appear as if it were stealthily stalking amidst the foliage, camouflaged within the stripes of the leaves.

With this decision in mind, I resumed painting. At this point, I knew that if the changes didn't salvage the piece, I'd simply start over. That's the beauty of painting—its fluidity and capacity for transformation.

I really wanted to add contrast to the tigers face to push the 3D feeling. I wanted strong light and shadows to pull you into the scene. There were some details I felt hesitant to cover up, but I feel like it only made me a better artist because of it.

But I still wanted to push it more.

I really darkened the piece to push the contrast. But it was still missing something. Now it needed those highlights to make your eyes move across the canvas. Bring the environment around the tiger and wrap you in the story.

So here is my finished painting. Titled “Poised”, a 24x36” acrylic on canvas.

“Poised”

SOLD

Carley Adberstein, 2024 24”x36” acrylic on canvas