Project #44 Miroco Machiko, Camouflage Animals

Japanse artist Miroco Machiko is a master at painting animals and plants.  Her vividly colored paintings are full of detail and movement.  Even though the colors might not be completely realistic and they are not painted in a photo realistic manner, she expresses their personalities and movements very well.

Above and below are a selections of her paintings showing animals in foliage, completely or partially camouflaged.  Do you see the bird in the painting above?  Machiko paints both wild and domestic animals surrounded by foliage. She uses both color and pattern to camouflage them.  

Why do animals have camouflage markings and colors? Some use them to hide from predators and others to hide them while they are hunting prey.  Even house cats use camouflage to hunt lizards and bugs. Moths and butterflies use camouflage to hid them from birds that eat them.  Many baby animals start life with camouflage markings on their body to keep them safe while their mothers go look for food and water.  

Do you think Machiko paints the animal first or the foliage first?  Think about that as you are planning your painting.  You may want to lightly draw the animal in then the plants around it and paint them all at the same time.  

Pictured below are some suggestions for animals to inspire your paintings - a baby tapir, a turtle, a uniquely spotted zebra foal, a quoll and a sea horse. You might want to make a list of animals/reptiles/birds that use camouflage to start this project, such as : stick insect, owl, seahorse, gecko, chameleon, arctic fox, leopards, mimic octopus, toads, cuttlefish, night jar and more.  

You may want to put more than one animal in your painting.  You can use a lot of different colors or as in the moth painting above, use a monochromatic palette to help a hide your animal.