If any of you have ever met my mother, you know she’s the leopard queen. Leopard is her neutral—it’s everywhere in her home, from the carpet (seriously) to the décor, to her closet. We even call her place the Leopard Palace. Naturally, it was only a matter of time before I attempted to make a leopard design myself.
The sketch is the hardest part for me. In my early days, I never identified as an artist, because “I couldn’t draw”. My definition of art and artists has since changed and although I wouldn’t call myself a drawer or painter, I have honed this skill as much as possible because the base of my artwork relies on a strong outline and I’ve come to learn it’s a crucial component to my process.
Once I had sketched out the leopard (and resketched 97 times), I started with various shades of cream rose petals to create the base of the leopard, using the different flower shading to give depth to its body. For the spots, I experimented with different florals before settling on a mix of pressed dill and verbena, with white petunias as highlights in the center.
I was so thrilled with the result that I knew I had to turn it into a throw so my mom could have one for every room! To complement the leopard design, I created larger leopard spots using dark purple galaxy petunias and dark purple ranunculus, with the cream toned centres from rose petals again.
As for the background, I considered many options, but I chose a rich chocolate brown, which really makes the leopard details stand out.
So, Mom—this one’s for you! I hope you love it!