Mountain Lion Painting. This is an original acrylic painting on canvas of the western cougar, Aspen, who lived at Grandfather Mountain. He had blue eyes and an expressive gaze. The feline is also called a panther, puma, or catamount. The big cat art is of a wild animal and it has a white background.
A pair of bright blue eyes stares at the viewer from the center of this painting. The animal behind the eyes—a curious and powerful cougar—is depicted in shades of orange, white, violet, dark green, and black, among others. The brightness of the sky-blue eyes makes them the focal point of the painting. The rich blue-ness contrasts heavily with the warmer fur, and the whites of the cougar’s eyes make its blue irises pop even more. The cougar stares at the viewer as if the viewer—perhaps an unsuspecting hiker—has stumbled into its territory. The cougar makes direct eye contact, almost daring the hiker to take another step forward. It’s the moment when the hiker realizes the direness of his situation and slowly backs away…heart pounding and palms sweating.
Video of this mountain lion painting in the sunshine:
“When I first look at this mountain lion painting, it makes me forget that the color blue ever existed… then I see its eyes and I remember.” — K. Paulettte
Artist Kent Paulette describes his process for this cougar painting, “The medium for this painting is Creek Water & Acrylic on canvas. Early in the morning, I went down to the creek in my backyard, waded through, stuck my face in, and collected a bucket of creek water that was running over rocks that are the color of the mountain lion’s fur. Then I came back to my studio with mud between my toes and wildness in my heart. I added the creek water directly to the acrylic paint to create my Creek Washes on this mountain lion painting.”
“I was inspired to paint this after a recent mountain lion sighting here in my neighborhood by someone who has seen them before out west. I painted this wild animal art on canvas using just the 3 primary colors (blue, magenta, & yellow) plus white.”
Artist Kent Paulette painted this original fine art in May 2020.
Comments about this mountain lion painting posted on social media:
Audrey Maltba Pate Hamby wrote, “Beautiful, in one shot he looks ready to pounce and those gorgeous blue eyes.”
Jerry Roldan wrote, “Kent..joy of art…yea! It shows in your work…anyone who is lucky enough to own one, will be young forever…”
Mary Ellis wrote, “Way to go Kent!! Your mountain lion has such a believable face.”
Linda Graham wrote, “Love it! Powerful!”
Tommie Redfearn wrote, “So bold and gorgeous.”
Sandy Pendley Duncan wrote, “Master of the paintbrush! Your work is exquisite!”
Tom Payne –
This is yet another painting that captures the essence of the animal spirit, a talent one imagines comes from the many hours that Kent spends in the nature that surrounds his mountain studio. Once again he has created a means to bring the most elusive creatures into your home, in this case the majestic Mountain Lion.
Kent Paulette –
Thank you Tom! I loved reading your review of my Mountain Lion painting.
Laurie Long –
Love all your paintings and espically this one! Awesome job!! ❤️
Kent Paulette –
Thank you Laurie! It’d be cool (and shocking) if we got to see a cougar at PHM one day.
Bob Shaffner –
Such a special talent. There’s artists and then there’s you. Having seen many famous paintings in the world, I rank you in the top ten. Your preparations, working in nature’s gifts, streams, dirt and special subjects, especially this one, are memorable and appreciated. Lots more to come and enjoy.
Kent Paulette –
Thank you Bob! I’m glad you enjoy my nature and wildlife artwork such as this painting of Aspen who lived at Grandfather Mountain.