Vitor Velez is one of the most talented wildlife artists you’ll ever come across, and he’s fascinated with every aspect of the animal world. Despite specializing in wildlife art, he managed to capture our hearts with paintings of many different marine species, from whales to sharks.
Velez has been in love with nature-themed art since his youth, when he used to copy illustrations from encyclopedias into his notebooks. Those days are long behind him, and he’s now a successful mix-media artist, with over 50,000 Instagram followers under his belt.
He uses a combination of colored pencils, pens, and watercolors to capture the endless beauty of many fascinating creatures. One thing that makes his illustrations instantly recognizable are his hand-written notes, and animals in his paintings seem to be lost between them.
Marine animals are one of Velez’s most common subjects, and he especially enjoys capturing big, heavy-built species, such as whales, sharks, and dolphins.
“I find it extremely beautiful the gracious way in which these giants can move and travel underwater. I usually seek to capture positions which allow us to observe the animal’s body movement – the way they twist, change direction, or simply the graceful coordination between all body parts,” Velez wrote on Instagram.
