Kim Minichiello

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Painting with the Tigers on Plein Air Friday

Next to the Tigers, Plein Air Watercolor, 14" x 9.5"

Bright and early this morning I was at Epcot laying the ground work for a watercolor sketching workshop  I will be teaching next week for artists and designers at Walt Disney Imagineering.  Got the demo spot scoped out with plenty of room for folks to gather around and honed in on other locations for everyone to sketch.

Getting ready to do the details

A few weeks ago I was at Disney's Animal Kingdom on the Asia trek painting near the bridge between the 2 tiger exhibits.  While I'm painting I love watching the early morning routines of the animal keepers and I end up learning a lot about the animals I'm painting near.  

Back up the hill after finishing some morning business

While I was working, there was a male tiger on the exhibit to my right and a female on the exhibit to the left.  They are currently separated until they get used to each other and the younger female is ready for mating.  They have to keep the shutters closed on the male's side because if he sees her through the glass across the promenade, he will go crazy! (This is what the keepers have told me.)  As it was, he can smell her and had some guttural sexy calls, that morning, which felt like he was carrying on right behind me! Nothing like loud Tiger snorts and groans to keep you awake in the morning.  She, the female, couldn't be bothered in the least!