Karl Whitney: Why you should sketch your cats before attempting to paint tigers

With the works of an old master in mind, Karl Whitney considers the value in building a base for important work and engaging our critical skill to improve technique

Eugène Delacroix was known for his large canvases, especially the allegory of the July 1830 revolution ‘Liberty Leading the People’ (1830).

The artist Eugène Delacroix (1798-1863) had an affection for animals that is reflected in his paintings and sketches. 

I have a couple of postcards bearing prints by him: one is a sketch of his cats, in various states of feline relaxation; another is of tigers in the same poses.