Work in Progress: Puma

.. or cougar, or mountain lion, or one of the other dozen of names it has (I think I'm going to stick with puma) is my latest painting in progress.

The Puma is the largest of the small cats (Felidae) and the fourth largest cat with males around 2.4 metres from nose to tail. It ranges across the American continents from the southern Andes to the Yukon of Canada with larger animals generally further away from the Equator. The Puma and its sister species the Jaguarundi are the closest relatives to the Cheetah. It is a powerful ambush predator relying on short bursts of speed to catch its prey such as White-tailed or Mule deer. 

Here is my rough sketch on canvas for the painting. I'm aiming to put the puma somewhat sheltering from a snowy environment with snowed-up branches of pine peeking through but you can't really see that at this stage.

More to come soon!