This painting represents my diploma project and the culmination of several years of learning and artistic development.

Interestingly, I did not originally plan to paint a tiger. My first idea was a large mountain landscape. While the concept seemed appealing on paper, I gradually realized that the subject did not truly inspire me. The project was complex, challenging to execute, and, most importantly, I had little desire to dedicate hundreds of hours to it.

I therefore decided to start over from scratch.

The choice of a tiger came naturally. In my eyes, it is the most beautiful predator in existence. It embodies strength, elegance, and an extraordinary presence all at once. It was the perfect subject for a project of such ambition.

What was initially meant to be a challenge ultimately became an artistic journey that lasted nearly a year.

Everything about this painting was challenging: the fur, the textures, the fine details, the values, but above all, the colors. Toward the end of the project, a large part of my work consisted of adjusting and refining color relationships in order to reproduce the reference photograph as faithfully as possible. Some mistakes proved particularly time-consuming and required me to rework entire sections of the painting.

On a mental level, this project often felt like climbing a mountain. Each problem solved seemed to reveal a new challenge waiting ahead. At times, the journey appeared endless.

This tiger is more than just a diploma project. It represents hundreds of hours of work, doubt, mistakes, and perseverance.

Even today, when I look at it, I am reminded that giving up would have been far easier than continuing. That is precisely why it remains one of the most important works of my artistic journey.