Romaine Dennistoun says...
Very simply, I draw wildlife, from life.
Working from life, searching for that defining line which says “eagle” or “elephant”, is hugely exciting and equally frustrating. Learning about my subject, his movements, his characteristics, his personality, is a joy. Then after countless discarded sketches, he may approach and briefly, look at me. Conspiratorially we share something indefinable, unforgettable. And at last the drawing comes.
Asked why I choose to draw from life then the instinctive answer must be that I love the experience of looking at my subject and searching for the forms on the page in pen or watercolour.
Next, I am very impatient, so a few quick lines which say precisely what my eye and heart sees is very satisfying. It gives me great pleasure when “errors” occur which somehow say more about my subject’s characteristics than if I had tried consciously to depict them.
A moving animal or bird is about the drama of bone, muscle, angle and energy. The more I look, the more I learn, and the greater are the opportunities for connections with my subject - bird or mammal.
SHORT-LISTED for "WILDLIFE ARTIST OF THE YEAR 2009"
