Category: Totem Paintings

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Humpback Whale Totem

Humpback Whale Totem

The latest painting in my Totem series, and while Humpback Whales are found all over the world, I consider this the first image in my Pacific Coast series.

This painting was an incredible challenge, and while I had always intended the Humpback to be part of my Totem series, it was something I wanted to do to prove a little something to myself as well.  Comments on the other animal paintings often mention how much people like the way I paint fur.  While that’s appreciated, I wanted to paint an animal that had none at all, just to see if I could do it.

There were a number of challenges with this painting.  First, it’s underwater, so there were choices to make on that.  When dealing with cool colors on cool colors, the effort to make the whale stand out from the background was going to be in the light contrast and taking a lot of creative license in the color of the whale itself.  Another challenge was the texture.  For a few hours while painting this, she looked a little like stucco because I had far too much contrast in the details, so rather than a rubbery looking skin, it looked almost scaly.  While correcting that, I went a little too far and the skin look too airbrushed.  What you see here is the compromise.  Skin that is still textured and non-uniform, but still trying to achieve a smoother look than I’m used to. And finally, I wrestled with the water.  I didn’t want a smooth gradient look, but I also didn’t want to go with the cliché ‘god lights’ that so many artists use in underwater scenes, those rays of light beaming in from the surface to give the painting an ethereal look.  Just didn’t feel right.  The background in my paintings is supposed to be just that, so I broke it up with the suggestion of particulates and bubbles.

Initially, I had planned on the finished image being 30″x40″ at 300 ppi.  Unfortunately, I didn’t get there.  The full resolution file for this painting is 18″x24″ at 300 ppi, because at one point, the working file size was right around 800MB.  My computer’s good, but it gets sluggish when painting detail at that size.  I’ve no doubt that I could still print this file at 30″x40″ at 200ppi on canvas and it would still look good, though.

Had a bunch of highs and lows while painting this little lady (BIG lady) and I can’t even guess how many hours I put into it, but it was a lot, likely more than I’ve put into any other painting.  For a few hours on the weekend, I was very frustrated and was worried I wasn’t going to achieve the look I wanted.  When that was going on, I wasn’t having any fun, whatsoever.

As difficult as this painting was, I learned a lot.  Had to create a few new brushes, something I haven’t done in awhile, but they’re now in my library and will come in handy the next time I paint an animal with mottled textured skin.  I also learned a few new layering techniques to get the suggestion of detail, without making it too sharp.

While it took a lot out of me, I’m pleased with the finished painting, and I think I’ve grown a little more as an artist, which is always the intent.

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Painting a Gentle Giant

Humpback whale and calf in The Broken Group Islands – Patrick LaMontagne

For as long as I can remember, I’ve been enamored with humpback whales, and I have no idea why this particular species of baleen whale holds my love and interest over any other marine mammal.  My wife and I saw these two (and a few more) on a tour of the Broken Group Islands out of Ucluelet on Vancouver Island this past summer, and although we only saw backs and tails, it was a thrilling experience.

A longtime dream I’ve had is to be in the water with one of these massive creatures.  Now before you think me a little nuts, I’m not oblivious to the danger.  I know that an animal can be as gentle as a kitten, but when it’s the size of a semi truck, you don’t want to be under it when it rolls over.  Despite that, the desire is very strong and I intend to make it happen.  I want to get my diving certification in the next year or two, and to swim with humpbacks in the next five.  It’s an expensive trip, but it’s one worth saving for.

From time to time over the years, I’ve had very vivid dreams featuring different animals.  One in particular, was the spark for my Animal Totem series.  Humpbacks have shown up a few times, most recently last week and it prompted me to start searching for reference.  When I found the right image (and there was no doubt, once I saw it), I started looking for the photographer who took it.

As I’ve mentioned before about photo reference, no photos are ever part of my paintings, but I still need to have great shots to work from in order to get the level of detail that I paint.  I can’t tell you from memory what the hair on a moose looks like as it transitions over the nose, or how a bighorn sheep’s horns curl around in relation to his other features.  So, I rely on the work of wildlife photographers to provide me with the reference I need.

Some photographer friends, of which I thankfully have many, have been very generous in allowing me the use of their work.  For others, I have traded my services as an illustrator for their own projects, or paid them outright for the license to use certain photos.   A few have asked for canvas prints of the finished painting in payment.  I’ve been agreeable to all of these terms, and grateful for their willingness to help me do what I love to do.

From time to time, a wildlife photographer will tell me they aren’t interested or their price will be too high for my budget.  In those cases, I’m usually disappointed, but I thank them for their time and look for other reference.  Even though my finished paintings look very little like the photos I use for reference, so many photographers have had their work stolen online and they’re extra cautious about allowing their work to be used.  It’s unfortunate, but a reality of the business, and as these photos are the product of their time and effort, they have every right to say No,  just as I’ve declined certain uses of my own work.  So I try to be hopeful but not too optimistic when I approach a photographer with whom I have no connection.

When I found the right humpback image, I was pleased.  All that was left was to get permission and the high resolution photo, and that’s how I found Scott Portelli.  Scott is a wildlife photographer out of Sydney,  Australia, and he specializes in taking photos of Humpback Whales.  Each year, for the past decade, he has taken small groups of people to Tonga to swim with these gentle giants.  From August to October, Humpbacks mate and give birth in these warm waters.  Scott is an active supporter of whale conservation and vocal opponent of the practice of whaling that sadly, still goes on today.

Having made ‘the ask,’  I set about to work on other things, as you never know how long the response will take.  Scott replied quickly, was very kind and we soon came to an agreement for the use of the photo.  Yesterday, I received the high-res image and I am very happy.  It’s a beautiful reference to work from, and I now have no doubt that I’ll be able to paint the image I’ve been imagining.  There are a few animals I’ve been waiting to paint until I had just the right reference, and this is one of them.  Thanks, Scott.

While I won’t post the image I’m using, please do look at Scott’s wonderful photos of these and other beautiful animals.  You can find his website and links to his Flickr account at www.scottportelli.com.

What I find especially thrilling is that this search led me not only to the photo, but to the means to fulfill my dream.  When I am ready to swim with Humpback Whales, I will know who to contact.  If you’d like to find out more about Scott’s excursions and tours to the beautiful waters around Tonga, you can find that information at www.swimmingwithgentlegiants.com

Somebody recently made a comment online that my specialty was obviously painting fur.  While it’s great to have that skill recognized, as it took me a long time to develop the techniques, I have no desire to be a one-trick-pony and only be able to paint furry animals, despite how much I enjoy it.  This whale will be a personal challenge as there’s not one hair to be painted in the whole image, but I think I’m up to it.  And I’m excited to get started.

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Time and Tide

Over the past four or five years, I’ve spent a great deal of time learning all I can, working to improve my skills, attending conferences, webinars, and even taking a couple of online courses.  This year, I’ve realized that there isn’t as much out there for me when it comes to education.  Yes, there will always be better artists to learn from, but many of them aren’t lecturing at conferences or teaching courses specific enough to warrant the expense.

I wrote recently that I wouldn’t be attending Photoshop World again next year,  so I considered attending the ICON illustration conference.  I’ve read good reviews, but it doesn’t feel like the right thing to do at the moment.  Earlier this year, I had decided not to attend the Association of Canadian Editorial Cartoonists conference next summer in Montreal, because even though there are people I would like to see, it really isn’t a conference about learning.  I can’t justify the expense for three or four days just to hang out and talk shop.  I realize Montreal is a beautiful city, but my wife and I have other vacation plans for 2012.

One decision I’ve now made for the next year is that unless I’m working or speaking at one, I’m not going to be attending any conferences.

With the success of my animal paintings and the fact that I enjoy them so much, it is very clear that I’ve finally found my niche.  This is the work I’m supposed to be doing and it’s a great feeling to have absolutely no doubt about that.  While I still enjoy drawing cartoons and painting people, painting animals is where I find the most fulfillment.

It is gratifying that my work has a growing following.  The paintings are doing well in both Two Wolves in Canmore and the About Canada Gallery in Banff, I’ve signed my first licensing deal with Island Art Publishers, and I’m beginning to get commissions that are a lot of fun to work on.  While I’m fortunate to enjoy most of the work I’ve been doing the past decade, I’ve never enjoyed it more than when I’m painting.

With a couple of DVDs under my belt, my second webinar for Wacom in a few weeks and some knocks on the door from other companies, it has become clear that I’ve stepped well into the realm of teaching, which is often a logical step for many students to take.  While I still intend to keep learning as much as I can, I’ve found that I’m finally comfortable passing on some of the skills I’ve learned, and I’m enjoying it, too.

But, where to go from here?  It’s a question faced by every freelancer, entrepreneur, and self-employed person and one you end up asking yourself over and over at different stages in any career.  Sure, there are many people who have done it before, some of them poorly and others with monumental success, and while their advice and example can aid in the big decisions, the choices still rest with each individual, and with how much each person is willing to risk.

For most of this past year, I was so focused on the DVDs for PhotoshopCAFE and other commission work, that I added only one painting to my Totem series, which was the Great Horned Owl.  Only one.  When I realized that this summer, I don’t mind saying that I wasn’t pleased.  The one thing I love to do more than anything in my work, and it turned out that I made it the lowest priority.  Obviously, I dropped the ball on that.

For the next year, my main focus will be these paintings.  Not just working on them, but promoting and selling them.  I’ve still got other commission work that I’ll be doing, and another DVD in the works for PhotoshopCAFE, but the main priority will be the work I love to do most.

There can often be a number of ‘right’ choices, and because of this, many people will succumb to the paralysis of making no choice at all.  This is the surest way to stall any progress in a freelance career.  Moving forward has always required taking risks, and part of that risk is making bold decisions without knowing how they’ll turn out.  So rather than play a game of wait and see, I’m going to gamble on success.

With that in mind, I’ve decided to get a Small Press booth at the Calgary Comic and Entertainment Expo at the end of April.  Between now and then, I’ll be preparing promotional material, designing and purchasing a large banner and hardware for the booth, figuring out which varieties of prints to sell, and doing as much research as possible to make sure I put my best foot forward.  This will involve a significant expense, but as the old cliché goes, ‘you have to spend money to make money.’

30,000 people went through the doors last year, so I figure it will be a good place to get my trade show feet wet. I’ll be painting live at the booth all weekend, in addition to selling prints and my DVDs.  I have to figure out how many of each I’ll need.  I could bring way too much and go home with a lot of inventory or fail to bring enough and sell out on Day 2.  It’s a gamble because I don’t know how popular my work will be with the attendees, but there’s only one way to find out.

Either way,  I know that I’m going to learn a lot from the experience, and I won’t be standing still.

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Bighorn Sheep Totem

Another painting done!  I’ve been working on this one for many months, off and on.  When I was doing painting demos at the galleries in Banff and Canmore at the beginning of this year, this is one of the paintings I was working on.  For some reason, I kept putting it aside in favour of other projects or paintings.  With the Fall season upon us, and my commitment to paint a lot more in the next few months, I figured it was a great time to finish it, and once I got going, I couldn’t put it away.

My father is not a professional photographer, but he and my Mom had been camping in British Columbia last Fall, and he took some great photos for me of a bighorn ram.  I had a number of them to work from and they really worked well.  Thanks, Dad!

This was easily one of my most challenging paintings.  Because of the publicity for my Totem paintings over the past year, and my recent painting DVD, I’ve been feeling the need to stretch my skills and try to put even more detail into these.  I tried some new brush techniques for this one, and even created an entirely new brush for the detail on the horns, something I haven’t done in awhile.  I couldn’t even guess how many hours I put into this, but it’s a lot, probably double what I’ve spent on any painting before this.  As always, I could have kept going, but you just have to call it at some point.  Finishing this up on a Friday morning just felt right.

I’ve got five paintings planned for the next few months, and have already sourced and acquired the usage permissions for the reference photos.  Two of those paintings will kick off completely new series, so I’m pretty excited about that.  I still get a big thrill out of finishing one of these, and I’m ready to start another one.  I’ve got some commission work to get to in the next week, so I’ll use that time as a buffer between this and the next painting.

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Painting, Projects, and Promotion

As I’m not a fan of the holiday season, I’ll tend to keep to myself over the next couple of months.  With that in mind, I plan to keep busy with paintings and other projects and I’ve made sure that I’ve got plenty on the go, including a number of paintings.

One project I’ve planned is creating a short promotional video of my painted work.  Not sure how I’ll use it, but I still think it’ll be a fun challenge.  Basically, it’ll be a video commercial for one of my animal paintings, which translates to all of my paintings.

I recently acquired the license for four reference images for wildlife paintings and while I’m looking forward to working on all of them, there is one in particular that has me excited.  The image is very clear in my mind, and the photo I have to work from is incredible in its detail.  With that in mind, I’m going to create a 2.5 minute video of the whole painting process, from start to finish.  Most of the painting will be sped up quite a bit, but there will be sections from the entire process included in the video, sketches to finished work.

This video you see here is a test, using the bighorn sheep painting that I’m currently working on.  You have to look closely to see some of the brushwork that I’m doing in the video, something I’ll do better in the future piece.  This is about 20 minutes of painting, sped up to be around 2 minutes in the video.  I bought the royalty-free piece of music yesterday, and while the license cost more than three CDs, you have to pay for quality and it’s not like I’ll be doing this on a regular basis.

I’m a big fan of movie-making and movies in general, and there’s a lot added by an appropriate piece of music.  This one is fine for the bighorn sheep painting, but it’s a perfect fit for the actual painting and animal I’m planning to use it for.  In this video, you don’t get to see the whole painting, and that’s intentional, because it’ll be done this week and I don’t want to show it too early.  The real detail has yet to be painted.

This was a learning process, but not as difficult as I thought it would be.  Some of the things I’ve got planned for the next one will be complicated with the software I have, but figuring that out will be part of the fun.

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Catching my breath.

Looking back on my career so far, it would seem that I spend most of my time living through periods of deadline panic with large projects, followed by periods of lesser panic where I figure that NOW I can finally gain some control over my life and relax.  This delusion is then followed by the next period of deadline panic with a large project.  I’m a slow learner.

Last week, I finished another DVD for PhotoshopCAFE, which definitely falls under the ‘deadline panic with large project’ category.  While I know that it will be ready for Photoshop World in Las Vegas the first week of September, I would imagine it will be available sooner than that online.  This was a big one for me.  While my first DVD effort was on cartooning, I’m pretty comfortable with that process, so even though the actual recording was hell (why mince words?),  the subject matter was fairly routine, as I’ve been drawing cartoons in that fashion every day for a number of years.

This second DVD, the recording and painting were both challenging, but still very enjoyable.  The editing, however, was just challenging.  I enjoy painting more than any of the other creative work I do, so I wanted the painting in the DVD to be my best effort.  While I’m pleased to say that I think I achieved that, I’m relieved that it’s done.  I ended up taking an involuntary day off once all the files had been sent, because I was completely exhausted.

Finished a commission of a cat painting this week.  There’s a great back story to this one, but I can’t share it, or the full painting, until after the client gives it as a gift.  Keeping secrets is often part of the job.  But I’m happy with how it turned out.   Recording the painting DVD created a little pressure (self-induced, of course) to up my game, and I’m looking forward to my next wildlife painting.  I’ve been thinking about this one  for almost a year and I’m excited to get started on it.

This week, I intend to finish a painting of my parent’s dog, Bailey, a wonderful little shih tzu with a great personality.  Been wanting to paint her for awhile and pleased I finally get to give this gift to my Mom.

I’ve got one more large illustration gig to wrap up in August, but other than that, I’m almost caught up.  I still have my regular editorial cartoons to draw, and five or six extras to get done in advance for my week away at Photoshop World Las Vegas at the beginning of September.  But, all in all, I think I’m finally going to be able to find a few days of downtime soon, gain some control over my life and relax.

Did I mention that I’m a slow learner?

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Second go ’round.

This is a work in progress.  Bailey is my parents’ dog, and the painting will be a late birthday present for my Mom.  This painting served as my rehearsal for the early stages of another DVD for PhotoshopCAFE, because in it, I’m painting another little dog.  At this stage, the rehearsal is over, because every painting is different and digital painting is not a step-by-step exercise.

Recorded a couple of sessions this morning, and I’m amazed at how easy it is this time around.   There are a few simple (and probably very obvious) reasons for this.

This is my second DVD.  I found the first one, Cartoon Illustration Techniques in Photoshop, to be incredibly stressful.  I’d never done a DVD before, I was learning the hardware, software, and was obsessed with making sure I included everything I possibly could for the beginner as well as keeping the experienced user interested.  That’s actually tougher than it sounds, because as in all things, once you’ve learned a skill, you often forget how to break it down to simple steps because it has become instinctual.

I took guitar lessons a couple of years ago.  My instructor is a very talented musician and excellent teacher, but every once in awhile after he showed me a particularly difficult finger picking song, he would go to break it down into a sequence and he’d have to take a few minutes to remember how he did it.  The playing of that song was so instinctual and set into sense memory that to break it down into individual chords and finger movements was tough for him to do.

That’s what it was like teaching all of steps I go through every single day when drawing editorial cartoons.  And while I’ve heard from a number of people that bought, enjoyed and learned a lot from that DVD, I’m glad I did that one first and saved the current one for second, because frankly, this one is a hell of a lot more fun.

This DVD is not for new-to-Photoshop beginners.  Anybody who wants to learn digital painting should already have a working knowledge of the software, at least for the techniques I’ll be teaching.  I don’t have to say, ‘this is how you open a document,’ or ‘this is how you create a layer.’  With the cartooning DVD, if I missed a step that I take for granted, it could really confuse someone who has never used Photoshop before.

With painting, there aren’t many ‘step by step’ lessons possible, because every painting is different and if I tried to do the same painting twice, the end result wouldn’t look the same.  With this DVD, I’m only doing one take for every session, and oddly enough, I’m fine with it.  The painting itself will take 15-20 hours.  I’m not going to redo two or three hours unless it’s absolutely required.

So this time around, I’m winging it, creating a painting from scratch, from the first brush stroke to the last.  Most of the stuff I’m talking about is whatever pops into my head based on what I’m seeing and thinking about the image in real time.  Listening to the playback of the sessions I recorded this morning, yes, I did notice a few uh’s and um’s.  Thankfully, not many as I do try to speak well on a daily basis, but nobody’s perfect.  With the last DVD, I would re-record the whole session to minimize that.  This time around, I’m leaving them in.  Because what’s also in there, which can’t be scripted, is animation in my voice, the excitement that I feel when I paint.  I love that!  Having that in there is worth a few um’s and uh’s, because I know that multiple takes would make that go away.

Recording the last DVD took a long time, kept me up nights, and was one of the most stressful things I’ve gone through in the past year.  This time around, I decided that I’m going having a good time with it.

So if you do decide to part with your hard-earned money and take a chance on hearing what I have to say and teach about digital painting, I hope it’ll be evident to you just how much I love this work, and that as a consequence, you’ll forgive a few uh’s and um’s.

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Art Cards with Island Art Publishers

As of yesterday, I have entered into a licensing agreement for my Totem paintings with Island Art Publishers for art cards!

Island Art was my first choice as I’m a fan of a number of their artists and I’m pleased that they’ll be representing my work.  Island Art primarily supplies a large number of retailers and museums throughout Western Canada, and also distributes through Eastern Canada, Washington, Oregon and Alaska.

I believe this region is the best possible market for my current Totem series, as it features animals found in the Rocky Mountains and Western Canada.  When I begin my West Coast wildlife series in the Fall, I’m confident that the images will find their way into the right stores and museums along the coast, thanks to this arrangement.

The first images to be put into production will be the mammals in my Totem series; the Wolf, Grizzly, Moose, Elk and Ground Squirrel.  I’ve seen the layout proofs and they look great!  The cards go into production next week and should be available to retailers a week or two after that.

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Photoshop Creative Magazine


The latest issue of Photoshop Creative magazine goes on sale today and if you turn to Page 9, you’ll see a little image of my Ground Squirrel Totem painting at the top of the page. “3 of the Best…” is a regular feature in this magazine.  Last month it was landscape painters, this month it’s animal portrait painters, and I’m very honored that they selected my work to be included in the list.

Anyone who visits regularly knows how much I love painting these Totems.  It’s strange that painting animals was never part of the plan, but then again, neither was being a cartoonist.  Funny how life turns out.

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West Coast Wildlife

Gray whale off of Vancouver Island – Patrick LaMontagne

My wife and I just came back from a wonderful week on Vancouver Island.  With visits to the Comox Valley, the city of Victoria, and other parts of the Island, the highlight was our trip ‘over the hump’ to Ucluelet and Tofino.

We booked a boat tour of the Broken Group Islands out of Ucluelet with Archipelago Wildlife Cruises in advance and had a great time.  I have long had a dream to see whales in the wild, specifically humpbacks, and while we didn’t get to see them breach, it was still a very thrilling experience.  Gray whales, bald eagles, seals, sea lions all made appearances, along with various water fowl.  This cruise was the best part of the whole vacation.  The owners of Archipelago are great hosts, and I wrote a lengthy 5 star review on Trip Advisor about them, which has yet to be posted.   But it’s easy to see why they’re rated the Number #1 tour on Vancouver Island.  A great couple to spend the day with, and after 5.5 hours on the boat, we definitely felt we got our money’s worth.

Humpback whale and calf in The Broken Group Islands – Patrick LaMontagne

One of the big reasons for this trip was to gather photo reference for my upcoming Totem painting series on West Coast wildlife.  Eventually I intend to paint a number of animals that call that area home, even though many of them aren’t exclusive to the west coast.  An otter, bald eagle, seal, sea lion, black bear, and a few whale species are all planned.  While it would be great to take my own photos for these, I often do better by finding photographers willing to sell or share their work for reference purposes, and I’ve been very lucky in that regard.

Bald Eagle in Tofino – Patrick LaMontagne

Even though I took many of my own photos, a few shown here, my Nikon D60 (while still a very good camera) doesn’t have the power I need to get the close-up shots I’m looking for.  One thing we found out quickly, we at least need to start looking at buying a zoom lens.  A realization I came to on this trip is that even though my skills are still limited to point-and-shoot, I’m really starting to enjoy taking photos, and I want to become a better photographer.

Bald Eagle taking off in Tofino – Patrick LaMontagne

I did come home with a couple of great sources for reference photos so the trip was a huge success, despite my own photos not measuring up for reference use.  I found that visiting the area left me feeling more inspired than ever to launch this series, and I’m eager to get painting.  I’ve got some commissions I’m currently working on, so I won’t put digital brush to canvas until October at the earliest on this series, but I’m really looking forward to it.