6 x 6 inch oil on 1/8th inch thick gesso board $80.00
This is my friends sisters cat, she sent me the photo as we are both huge cat fans, I fell in love with that wonderful face so of course I had to paint it.
I grew up with siamese cats so I am very partial to their wonderful personality and the sound of their oh so distinctive meow. This beauty was rescued in the summer after spending a couple of years outside.
I took this photo at the cat rescue I frequent, this kitten was standing on a scratching post which originally I had painted in and then decided against it. The colours were quite muted so I decided to add some splash. My brush strokes were very loose and all over the place.
I haven't painted a cat for some time, I was searching my photos and loved how the light was on part of the cats face. I used indian yellow and transparent oxide brown for the underpainting. I am trying to be even more loose with my style, this painting has very messy strokes and little dabs everywhere.
My last two paintings were very large so going back to my 6 x 6 was a little bit of a challenge at first. I used burnt umber to under paint and do the sketch. I find it softens the overall colours of the painting.
The key word here is painting, I just let loose and did exactly that, very little sketching at all. My brush moved quickly with lots of energy...end result very fluffy kitten.
I have had this photo for awhile, I seem to stay away from images that have shadows, not sure how to start the painting. Well today was the day. The key for me is to paint what you see not what you think you see. Spend as much time studying the photo as you do painting.
I still get such pleasure from making so many beautiful colours from just a handful of paints. I have learned so much about colour by paring down my palette. It took awhile to get the hang of it but now I can't imagine painting any other way.
Looking through my photos this morning I came across this kitten which I painted a couple of years ago, I decided to paint it again. I thoroughly enjoyed beginning to end, using really loose strokes and even a little bit of finger painting.
I started this cat and originally was going to wipe it. I decided to push through and am pleased that I did. I usually use a more softened colour for my background but decided to throw caution to the wind...love the turquoise/blue against the golds and yellows.