Give a Hedgehog a Home!
Autumn is well and truly upon us and it’s always at this time of year that I think of hedgehogs snuffling around the garden getting ready for their winter hibernation.
Hedgehogs have become almost mythical creatures and you have to be really lucky to see one! I’ve lived in my house for 20 years and have only seen a hedgehog twice ~ once when I first moved in and once last year!
Sadly, these elusive creatures have been registered as vulnerable to extinction in the UK and since 2000 it’s estimated there has been up to a 30% decline in urban areas and 50% in rural areas with an estimated population of 879,000 remaining from an estimated 30 million in the 1950’s.
Historically, advice on how to feed hedgehogs was wrong and sadly aided their decline! Hedgehogs are lactose intolerant and should only be fed cat or dog food as their natural diet consists of worms, beetles, caterpillars, slugs and even carrion.
Hedgehogs, like many other species are declining rapidly due to the destruction of their natural habitats. Urbanisation of green spaces and the loss of hunting and mating routes have been curbed by the suburban sprawl with the humble garden fence being the biggest culprit. Fences have put paid to their nightly patrols where they can travel 1-2Km in search of food. If you have a fence and would like to help hedgehogs you can add a small opening (a hedgehog tunnel) along the base board to allow them through. If you would like to find out other ways you can help to protect and support hedgehogs click on the accompanying links: https://www.britishhedgehogs.org.uk/helping-hedgehogs-2/ or https://www.wildlifetrusts.org/what-do-if-you-find-wild-animal/help-hedgehog. There are lots of small changes we can all make to help our little prickly friends.
In our Hedgehog Portrait we will look at ways of capturing their characters and textures to create a sense of realism. To begin, we will work on the eye. I always like to try and put the eyes in first as they bring so much life and expression to a portrait! It's also where our own eyes are initially drawn to ~ so it's important to get them right.
If you have ever seen a hedgehog up close, you will have noticed that they have two, separate distinct textures across their face and body. They have hair on their faces/undersides and hard pointy spines across their body. Their 6000 spines (don’t worry we won’t be painting them all!) serve as an effective protection from most predators ~ apart from their nemesis the badger!
To create the spines we will first mask the pale, pointy tips and then apply washes of colour to give our hedgehog a deep brown body. Once the masking is removed I will show you how you can agitate and lift out some of the colour as we extend and lengthen the spines towards the body.
We will build up the fur textures using a combination of masking fluid to reserve the pale hairs and layers of fine, directional brushstrokes. Layering several colours and values will help to create contrast so our little hedgehog appears three dimensional.
To find out more about this project, take a quick look at the video below:
I do hope you enjoy creating this cute portrait. The techniques you learn in this one will help you to describe fur textures which you can adapt and use as you create more of your favourite furry friends.
And if you are local to me and you would like to see hedgehogs up close you can visit them at the British Wildlife Centre in Lingfield where you will find a whole host of British animals. You never know you might even discover the inspiration for your next animal portrait!
Remember ~ if you enjoy painting animals there are lots more tutorials to try on the website ~ don't forget to try out one of my favourites the Harvest Mice tutorial or if you fancy something a little more exotic ~ why not try out the Tiger tutorial?!
Happy Painting!
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