Margo's Tiger

Margo's Tiger

2025, oil on linen canvas, 16 x 16 inches

There were two significant changes between the final drawing below and the finished painting: the woman's hands were repositioned, and the image of the second tiger was replaced with a brush and small bowl of paint.

Margo's Tiger, drawing #7

2025, pencil on paper with red oxide pastel tone on reverse, 16 x 16 inches

The lower tiger detracted from the importance of the tiger being shown to the man, while the angle of the brush added a counterpoint to the movement of the hands and the watercolor, balancing the composition.

Margo's Tiger, in progress

Margo's Tiger, in progress

16 x 16 inches, oil on linen

This composition has been on my mind for many years, with initial sketches dating to 2013. 

The narrative relates to a memory from an afternoon when I was fifteen, and a classmate showed me her watercolor of a tiger. 

The composition explores the structure of two stacked triangles - one above the other. The upper frames the faces; the lower frames the tiger.

There are seven drawings related to the composition ... three of them below: 

drawings #1 and #2 initial sketches

left: blue ink on paper, 3 1/2 x 4 inches, 2013

right: black ink on paper, 3 x 4 inches, 2013

Margo's Tiger, drawing #7

pencil on paper with red oxide pastel tone on reverse, 16 x 16 inches, 2025

final drawing, used to transfer the image to linen