I started with a minimal pencil sketch for the outline of the chameleon. The base of the body of the chameleon rests more or less on where the third line would be according to the Composition Rule of Thirds. I then blocked in the initial colors of the three distinct areas of the painting: the chameleon, the surface it's walking on, and the background.
Notice how even at this early stage I'm putting down the paint in the background in the direction I want for the background in the final painting, and differentiating it from the surface the chameleon is walking on. It can be difficult at a later stage in a painting to hide or cover up brush marks that go the "wrong way" without totally painting over an area with a very opaque color.
The chameleon was painted with acrylics on a 120 x 160 cm (47 x 63 inch) canvas. The colors used were:
- Burnt umber
- Cadmium orange
- Green gold
- Quinacridone gold
