As much as I enjoy painting wildlife I would say that I am primarily a landscape painter. When I plan a painting I do so with the intention of not just making the wilderness scene a backdrop but to have it predominate over the wildlife. With this in mind, I prefer to give my canvas a more panoramic dimension and place the animal off to one corner of the composition. The idea is to give the viewer a sense that the animal has entered the scene to make a debut and then disappear from view. Seeing nature for me is in the details and painting in acrylics gets me to that level quickly. I usually start with a loose pencil line and then get a 'mushy' underpainting going in transparent earth tones to establish where the background and foreground areas will be. Gradually, I will build up the details, bringing out the colors and textures of the landscape until the painting has achieved a level of realism I'm pleased with. The relationship of atmosphere with its light are important in my paintings. My landscapes will often have fog or mist rising in the air catching the warm colors of a morning sunrise or sunset. I have also been trying my hand in oils and even though it requires more patience to work with than acrylics, I'm gladly rewarded with the paint's rich aesthetic quality it brings to the canvas.

— Chris Gallison