8851 Prairie Buffalo
Jerry Yarnell – Inspiration of Painting Fine Art Instructional PBS Television Video Series

In this beginner acrylic painting lesson, Jerry guides you step-by-step through creating this beautiful prairie wildlife landscape on an 18 x 24 canvas during a 106 minute lesson. A solitary American buffalo stands on an expansive open prairie beneath a bright sky filled with soft billowing clouds. Rolling grasslands, distant hills, wildflowers, rocks, and a winding foreground path create a peaceful western scene that captures the vastness and natural beauty of the American plains.

You'll learn how to paint a realistic buffalo with believable proportions, body structure, shaggy fur, head, horns, legs, and natural shadows while placing the animal convincingly within the surrounding landscape. Jerry demonstrates fine art techniques for developing realistic depth and distance across the open prairie, with distant hills and grasses becoming softer and less detailed as they recede. This step-by-step acrylic painting tutorial also shows how to create large soft clouds, open skies, prairie grasses, and foreground textures that give the scene a strong sense of space.

Special focus is given to painting buffalo, realistic animal fur, wildlife anatomy, prairie grasslands, wildflowers, rocks, distant hills, blue skies, billowing clouds, and natural outdoor lighting using layered acrylic techniques, controlled brushwork, and blended color transitions. You'll also explore techniques for creating realistic clouds, convincing ground textures, natural shadows, and the subtle changes in color and detail that make a wide-open landscape appear deep and spacious.

By the end of this lesson, you'll gain confidence in painting wildlife, realistic fur, clouds, grasses, and expansive landscapes while learning how to combine a detailed animal subject with a convincing natural environment. This beginner acrylic painting tutorial is an excellent project for artists wanting to strengthen their fine art painting skills while creating a classic American buffalo scene filled with wildlife, open country, and the beauty of the western prairie.