Meerkat

[Enug]

We recently visited meerkats at https://www.monartozoo.com.au/animals/meerkat/ This is my version of a painting I found on Pinterest (I couldn't find a link to the orginal artist.

(Do the paint splatters add or detract from the image?)

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We were not allowed to touch the animals as they are wild and can give a nasty bite. We had our laps covered with aprons and mealworms were tossed on our laps to encourage the meercats to jump on us. I was itching to pat them but resisted as I didn't want to be reprimanded (or bitten)!;)

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[D Akey]

Very cute visit. Must be friendly little critters -- I'm talking about the meerkats. You two probably are as well.

The paint spatters with so little contrast anywhere else in the painting are rather extraneous and have no reason for being because nothing else in the pic indicate it was painted with a slap-dash wet brush that makes spatters. So it's not like it's naturally there which would be the first thing to ask yourself. Plus it's more contrasty than most of the subject, so it pulls the eye to a meaningless place that's looking to upstage the star of the pic. It's a very subtle picture so it's a little like walking into a room with a sleeping baby and someone follows you in and starts speaking in a normal voice. Meaning the voice would be fine in a normal room with normal activity. But in a room with a sleeping baby it's going to waken them. So in a normal painting with a full value range the splatter would be fine if not nice to see. It gives it a natural watercolor effect which is good when doing a watercolor simulation.

I assume because you ask that it was not really working for you either. If so, that's probably why not.

[Enug]

Thanks DA - that's the answer I was expecting.;) I just had the urge to throw in some spatters :p