Drawing and Painting Animals with Expression

Marjolein Kruijt's deep and abiding love of animals is obvious in this book, which will teach you the technical aspects of drawing domestic and wild animals, such as different breeds of dog and cat, and long and short fur. In addition, it will help you to capture their inner nature.

Inspired by the essence of her subjects, Marjolein Kruijt specialises in capturing nature and animals on canvas, always aiming to capture their beauty and innocence. She received her degree in arts from the Royal Art Academy in The Hague, then trained as an art teacher in Amsterdam, HvA. She has worked as a full time artist since 1999. She exhibits internationally and has published a number of books.

The artist 9
Materials 11
Workshop equipment 13
Charcoal and pencil 13
Ink 14
Pastel 15
Oil 17
Watercolour 19
On location 21
Where can you draw animals? 22
Why work from observation? 23
Which materials? 24
Basic techniques of drawing 25
Stuffed animals 30
Using photographs as inspiration 34
Your own style 37
Cats 38
Inspiration 40
Using space and backgrounds 46
Anatomy and coat 53
Capturing characteristics in your sketches 60
Dogs 62
Inspiration 64
Using space and backgrounds 70
Anatomy and coat 76
Capturing characteristics in your sketches 82
Wildlife 86
Inspiration 88
Using space and backgrounds 94
Anatomy, fur and feathers 100
Drawing at the zoo and on your travels 104
Demonstrations 112
Borzoi in oil 114
Collies in pastel 118
Maine Coon in watercolour 122
Norwegian Forest cat in pastel 126
Rabbit in oil 132
Dog in oil 136
Biography 143