I was inspired by many images online of animals being painted in vibrant colors, rather than their natural hues. My lion developed with a very large mane and lots of texture.
My nephew described him as the “saddest lion” with those eyes.
In the early days I did not incorporate the boxed sides into the painting and merely provided a solid color. Lately, I extend the painting onto the sides of the box canvas, which works really well, especially with landscapes.