Golden - Framed

I have been meaning to draw or paint a lion's head for a while now.  Typically, I don't paint much in browns, I use them as needed in landscapes, but not as the primary color palette, so I decided to play around first with colored pencil.  

The piece turned out very much as I wanted - taking a little from the process in Majestic, for Golden I was aiming for the face to be somewhat realistic, but to become more interpretive as your eye travels to the beard and mane.  In the end, the beard ended up kind of between the two, with some hints of realism in the ear, and the upper mane merely hinted at with linework.  I especially enjoyed adding hints of complementary blues here and there to cool the overall composition.

Original Artwork

The original has been juried into the 2026 WA State Fair Fine Art Show in Puyallup WA and will be on display framed at the WA State Fairgrounds September 4th - 27th.  

It is available for sale, framed to 16" x 20" via the WA State Fair.

Other works in the 2026 WA State Fair: Majestic, In the Infinite Flow, Blending In.

Colored oil-based pencil on 11" x 14" Strathmore 400 series Mixed Media paper. Signed by the artist.