Wolf Not in Colorado Yet

[JayS]

Here is a wolf.

[PogArtTi]

Nice sketch, I love wolves very much myself!
What's the story behind JayS?

[Mike Sibley]

Jay, I'm going to be a bit critical... Wolves are covered in hair, but this one appears to be sculpted out of wood.

The trees in the background - Mountain Ash? Silver Birch? I recognise them but can't readily name them - are something you obviously understand and know well. That alone makes the wolf look a little unnatural.

I'm not explaining that very well.

There are, I think, two ways to draw a hairy animal, such as this wolf:
-- You sculpt the three-dimensional form and then try to make it look hairy.
Or...
-- You draw the hair so its highlights and shadows describe the three-dimensional form.

I think you chose the first, but the second is the way we see it in Nature.

That said, I love the wolf's character and expression. And the pose with its mixture of being relaxed yet ready to react.

[JayS]

Greetings Arthur, thank you for asking for the story... This Mexican wolf was at the Divide Wolf Sanctuary in south central Colorado. I photographed him some 15 years ago so, if he is still alive, he is an old wolf now. Here in Northwestern Colorado the Colorado Division of Wildlife has decided that this is the ideal place for wolf reintroduction. A few years ago votes approved reintroduction and some 50 wolves are to be released in the wild. Needless to say the vast majority of ranchers in this part of the state want nothing to do with wolves. As a result, there has been a great deal of uproar about the wolf. I've even had a grandmother scream at me that "I wouldn't want my grandsons to be eaten by a wolf would I?" So In this wolf drawing I put a number of rocks in the foreground to symbolize a "rocky road" for the wolf. Many ranchers have openly stated that they have a shoot on site policy for the wolf. Research by the federal government since 1830 demonstrated that the only way to remove the wolf was to poison it which led to the extinction of the wolf in the lower 48 states. Reintroduction of the wolf to Yellowstone was contentious but it turned out that the wolf is a keystone species. As a keystone species the wolf regulated elk population and greatly improved grasslands and stabilized many species in Wyoming and Montana. The wolf was also responsible for creating, overall, a better balance of nature by killing diseased animals. In our part of the state more than 40% of the Mule Deer population have Cronic Wasting Disease. Wolves seem to be immune to the disease and could potentially improve deer survival. But the Division of Wildlife depends on revenue from hunting so it opposes the wolf as competitors to human hunters. About a year ago wandering wolves from Yellowstone, some 500 miles to the north of us suddenly appeared here. They have their own reintroduction plan. To symbolize their adoption of Colorado as home territory I placed the Columbine in the lower right hand of the image and Aspen trees behind the wolf. Both of these species are indigenous to Colorado. The Aspen, in particular, is the single largest living organism on planet earth. To me the Columbine is a beautiful flower. It is my stated hope that the wolf thrives here too. This is the first drawing I have done where the background is largely invented. This is a significant break from my past drawings which tried to reproduce nature. Thanks for the request!

[JayS]

Hi Mike, I lost the image of the wolf in my post. I've tried deleting the cookies, but it didn't completely work.

I once had a friend called Harry Wolf. His wife was Crystal Wolf. So now I've drawn a wolf I should name Wooden. Wooden Wolf has a ring to it don't you think?

Seriously, thank you for your critique. Your thoughts echo mine. When I started drawing this wolf I wanted to show the hair. My faulty thought process led me to believe that I could use a mechanical pencil with .03 lead and draw the hair. Somehow this led to a disconnect between what I wanted and what I produced. How can I forget how to do something I've done in the past? The other issue for me is that the wolf has short hair and really short hair around the muzzle. I have a portrait of a Artic wolf on the drawing board to see if I can show the hair correctly. I will review your lessons on drawing hair.

The trees are aspen. I would guess that you don't have many in England. I do see them all the time. A fun fact about Aspen Trees is that they do not tend to burn in a forest fire. They do not have branches close to the ground. I find it interesting that you see the relationship between the wolf and the trees as one of mutual influence. This leads me to believe that a fir tree behind the Aspen would soften the relationship. ?

[PogArtTi]

I'm pleased to read full story!
It brings me closer to your idea of making this drawing, so the trees, rocks - all come to great sense now.
Thank you for story tale JayS!

On the other hand I remember case regarding Tigers...
Forgive me, I don't remember now whether it was India or elsewhere.
So...
The government wanted to introduce Tigers back to their habitat...
Armed security forces patrolling the area, looking after for both, the people and Tigers...
The villages are at Tigers area, Tigers have no enough space, they're coming around villages, killing people...
People have no option but go to the woods, as they're working there, and they risking the life...
They aren't happy to know the Tigers are around!
Security patrol cannot protect them sufficiently as the area is huge, etc...
Government is happily advertising introduction of the Tiger back to its nature, people are scared...
Big problem ...
The Government Patrol is tracking down these Tigers that once killed people, but trying not to kill the animal but catch it up, and remove from village area back to captivity...
There's not enough of space for Tigers to have their life separated.
Their lines are crossing people's lines - it's obvious the danger is present there.
There was one man walking through the village and trying educating those people, and make them more open for Tigers...
He was attacked by the Tiger himself, and lost one eye...
Regardless of that fact, he is there to support those animals...
What a story!
People are scared of their children, family members and simply day by day living!
Well.
Too many people on planet Earth.
We all know it.
We can see consequences already...
I hope my story wasn't boring too much
Best regards!

[JayS]

Hi Arthur,
Thanks for your Tiger Story. The number of people are, as you stated, the real problem. According to a report on 60 minutes Paul Eurlich a biologist, stated that we were sustainable in 1970, Today we consume 175% more resources than the planet can recover every year. He estimated that we now need 5 more earth planets in order to be sustainable. When I show art in the mountain towns the people easily relate to the animals, when I go to the city the preference is for abstract and expressionist art. Most people seem to have a hard time relating to wild animals.

[PogArtTi]

Thanks for your Tiger Story.

I'm happy you did read it through

When I show art in the mountain towns the people easily relate to the animals, when I go to the city the preference is for abstract and expressionist art. Most people seem to have a hard time relating to wild animals.

That's interesting observation!

You know the Matrix movie for sure...
Don't you think we are like the virus, disease that destroys the Earth?!
I do think so.
We did develop like a cancer, and eating up the body of our planet...
We spread out ...
Even getting ready to explore the Universe...
Planet Mars, our Moon...
We getting smarter, we do learn how to survive Earth's medicine (cataclysmes that occurs spontaneously to reduce our population)...
We grow stronger, our technology is helping us to avoid that "medicine", which becomes less effective...
Who's or what gonna stop us from affecting the Universe?
Once we get there, we will go further, and further...
Do we going to support the Universe?
I doubt.
We going to get there to eat it up, like the planet Earth.
Our main destiny is to survive - no matter what.
This is what we do best.
Sorry if I'm hurting anybody feelings, but every time when I'm thinking about living on Earth...
If you know I mean.
Back to the Tiger story...
Is it really good idea to introduce such great predators back to nature, I doubt.
There never is going to be peace between these animals and people.
The idea is great, but making no sense in longer view.
There's going be more and more people around those tigers.
In few years time the tragic things will get worse, as nobody can mark up the food source for tigers to let them hunt their pray down.
Tigers will hunt anything they can to feed themselves and their offspring.
As far as I could possibly imagine defending single wolf?, I can not imagine dealing to the Tiger at all!
It's like going to the forest, knowing there are T-Rex dinosaurs around...
My point is - I do feel for tigers, but I question their future, when introduced around villages ...
There's no way to make a sign for tigers - NO TRESPASSING, is it?
I don't know.
The longer I'm thinking about such scenarios of living on our planet Earth, the more confusion it causes, as I'm not sure any more what is good what is bad.
Great ideas around, but in real life not so good?
I'm sorry - I did let myself flow too far into this subject JayS, and my friends

[JayS]

Arthur, We all need to think really hard about climate change. A report by 60 minutes says that the abundance of wildlife has fallen 94% since 1970. I was alive in 1970. Won't be in 2049. I'll be extinct.

[JayS]

Hi Mike,
I've gone through your tutorials on drawing hair. I've decided to start over. The three videos are tremendous. They really help me understand what I didn't do to Wooden Wolf. So now it is on to hairy wolf.
Wooden wolf was about 14"X16" in size. Because it is easier to draw larger I decided to go 22"X28". This will give me more room to work.
The first thing I did was to identify areas of the wolf that have different hair values. In keeping with your advice on the videos I will work each defined areas which are really small areas. I want to work slowly so this may take a month. I look forward to your thoughts as I progress.
Hopefully you will be able to see more than his nose.

A note to other forum members...I will be following Mike's guidelines as specified in his hair videos. In as much as I value Mike's feedback I want yours as well. I thank you for your thoughts.