WOO - HOO ... Final Stage of the Cats

THIS is what I LIKE! A nice soft and supportive background. I mixed some gold and indanthrone, painted along the outline and scrambled it outwards to soften. I may add a touch more near her eyes with the blue, but overall I do like the look.

This was one of my many attempts to get "the look".

Sponging ... NO!

A swatch with some other attempts and color combinations.

More trial and error ...

EEK!!! NO!!!

Ditto!

Like the effect but not the color. Thankfully, I had all the color studies I had done earlier  with which to play.

Nice, but too dramatic, I feel, for the owner. I will be using gentle colors tending to warm, and something to bring out their eyes.

And this is a sketch of one of my next projects. Meet the Greater Bilby. I had never heard of this beastie before, and when I saw a photo, I felt compelled to draw and paint him. He is a rabbit-sized marsupial, living in the drier areas of Australia. He is also on the endangered list. I would like to do [hopefully] one drawing and/or painting a week of an endangered animal.

Thank you so much for dropping in!!!

A TALE OF TWO KITTIES

Looking absolutely nothing like a cat!!! ... just thin washes of alizarin crimson and burnt orange

Wet-in-wet applications of aureolin and burnt orange for the eyes, and thin direct applications of a black started on her face.

STILL not looking much like a cat. Continuing with direct applications of the black ... 

Another w/w of burnt orange for the eyes. Then I wet the entire area on which I want some black. I start with a very dilute mixture to get the paint flowing over a large area, then stroke on some thicker pigment. I continue till the paper is too dry to accept paint.

A pair of pupils - always a good idea. Also another w/w application of a dark brown from the top of the eyes to simulate shadow. NOW she's starting to look like a cat! 

A bit of touching up with thin glazes of black, and she is done. Just a hint of background needed. 

Another strange-looking beastie! I have wet the entire head and neck and stroked in some phthalo blue and a mix of that blue with a bright pink.

These eyes are also done with w/w applications of aureolin and burnt  orange; the ears with pink and a touch of burnt orange. Lots of teeny, fine brush strokes in the direction of hair growth ...

... and still more brush strokes ... 

I like how the process of wetting and softly brushing in black softens the appearance of the coat. So once again, I mix up three dilutions of color, wet the entire area to be black, and start dropping in paint.

And here is Black Cat #2. I wasn't sure if I really loved the look, but after leaving the two portraits for a day or two, and putting them side by side, I quite like them. YAY!!!!

I worked on these two together - just mixed up a vat of black paint and got going. They were both done inside of a week [that must be a record for me!] The next one is going to be more of a challenge - he has a very flat face ... almost no facial "structure" to work with, as well as having some fussy coat coloration. But that's five portraits done so far!!!

Thank you so much for dropping by!

A New [and Better] Look for the Seiner, and Other Little Bits and Pieces ...

I quite liked the softness of the background colors in this photo. My niece's boyfriend took it at Spanish Banks.

So, I started again - masking the ship, and washing and glazing with aureolin, phthalo blue, permanent rose and cobalt blue.

I did the mountains with a thin w/w glaze of indanthrone, and added some more cobalt clue to the water.

I wanted to compare the look of the two - liked the newer one MUCH better.

Started adding the shadows to the ship ...

... and some of the local color.

More of the same, and added the rigging. 

Then finally the net. I took this photo in early morning light, so it's quite washed out and very blue. My next step will be to do some subtle wave action in the foreground, hopefully leading the viewer's eye to the people, and mast with the netting.

I also intensified the darks around Jules' face. I wet the entire previously painted are, then drizzled in some black.

This is the next project [along with some ducklings, too]. This is Miss Sophia, one of the animals to be added to the huge painting of eight cats. 

My trainer took these photos last week - Bruno and I chuffing around in the back field.  He's got a nice long and  supple topline, is stepping under well with his hind legs, and has a lovely frothy mouth - all signs of a relaxed, happy camper.

I'm getting a lot of painting and drawing done, which is good, but only because I haven't been able to ride. Some nasty flu virus saw me coming, and decided to take up residence, so I've been laid low for several days. I haven't yet quite established a routine that organizes me, so that I have time for Bruno and for art, and somehow Bruno always wins out ... but I'm getting there.

Thank you so much for dropping  by!

I Think a Change in Plans Is Due for the Fishing Boat ... or ... OOPS, Too Much Pink!

I left off here the last post.

Since then, I darkened the water several times with a dark blue mixture, and then unfortunately added some pink, too. It doesn't appeal to me.

I worked on this for a while this morning, adding the net, shadows and details. I'll put it aside and take another look, and maybe show it to Gary, too. My thought right now is to enlarge the ship, put it in a portrait format, and grey down the pink!

A Nautical Painting ... the Basics Are Done

My drawing, with notes on format and direction of graded washes

The NAFCO - a seiner

A photo [taken by Clark Mishler] I found on the internet - loved the local mountains in the background, and the early morning soft colors.

Masked, with initial thin washes of aureolin and quin. rose.

Washes of a blue mixture - cobalt and phthalo blue.

Another wet-in-wet wash of pink ...

... and another of the blues.

Added the mountains with a mixture of indanthrone, aureolin and pink.

GONE! That huge blob of yellow masking was throwing off my eye as to color.

More dark blue washed onto the mountains on the right of the ship.

This is a gift for a friend - one of my sister's boyfriends. He is a manager at the Acura dealership in Langley. He very kindly found a car for me after the accident I had last October.  [My car was a write-off.] The car is a beauty, and was so reasonably priced. I know Gary likes realistic watercolor paintings, and my sister suggested I do one of his dad's fishing boat. I googled the ship's name and found some images, did some drawing, planned a color scheme, and here I am - about a third of the way through. I think the ship will be relatively easy- fussy, but easy.  It's the water that is going to take some thinking and planning.

That's it for now - thank you for dropping by!!