Ruth Buchanan
Peer, soft pastel, 101⁄4x141⁄4in (26x36cm)
The siting of ears, noses and eyes is very important when drawing and painting animals. If you get it wrong, especially for commissioned work, it will draw the viewer’s eye for the wrong reasons. For paintings of emotion, atmosphere and narrative, an awareness of all the facial features is key. As humans we tend to read expression of emotion or attitude mainly from the eyes. In the rest of the animal kingdom communication occurs more through body language. The eyes play a part, but in combination with, and subordinate to, the nose, ears and head position.