You are In My Spot

Here is my daily cat painting. He is an orange tabby who obviously upset about something.  If it isn't cat food, it is because someone in sitting in their spot.

"You Are In My Spot'  6x8 on Gallery Wrap Canvas

"Grayed Tabby"

I toned my canvas with transparent red oxide and alizarin crimson.  I began a long haired cat but I didn't care for my first painting. So I scraped it.  It muddied the reds on the canvas. Then I painted a gray tabby over it using my left over colors on my palette.
It is harmonious and I like it.  I focused on developing the planes of the cat's face which I think that is a direction I want to keep going with the cats.
Here is my daily cat painting.

"Grayed Tabby" 5x7 Oil on Gallery Wrapped Canvas

Cherry Jubilee II

Cherry Jubilee II 8x10 Gallery Wrap Canvas

Here is my other cherry painting from yesterday. Yes - I did two. I was trying to keep the under painting and lost it completely with the first study. I then did this one and kept some of the under painting but not quite enough. More practice.

Return to the Cupboard

Here is my cat painting today. He looks like a cranky kitty. I guess I chose the wrong cat food for him today.  I need to return to the cupboard.

"Return to the Cupboard" 6x6 Oil on Gallery Wrapped Canvas

Cherries Jubilee

Here is my paint study from Randy Blasquez's class today. I needed to push the light, again. I am happy with this 6X6 study and the instruction was outstanding as always.

"Cherries Jubilee" 6x6 Oil On Canvas *NFS

How About A Picture Of A Cat?

I was in art classes today and got home too late to paint a cat... so my apologies. Here is  my study and the cat I will be painting tomorrow.

9x12 Oil On Board With Palette Knife

"Blue Eyed Girl"

I painted  our short haired mix Siamese cat with the blue eyes, Sheeba. I kept the painting soft.
I am starting to get a watercolor effect wit the oil paint.
Any how,  here is my cat painting for the day.

"Blue Eyed Girl" 8x8 Oil On Canvas

Orange Cat Feeling Blue

SOLD "Feeling Blue"  8x8 Oil on Canvas

This is a painting of our cat, Garfield. He came with the name. We adopted him at the SPCA where he was estimated between 8 to13 years old. We were never sure about his age.  My husband and I gave him a home and taught him how to be a spoiled cat.  He lived with us 14 plus more years before passing on. Wonderful companion. I recommend adopting older cats.

Paint a Thousand Trees

Last night, I heard the instructor say to learn to paint trees, paint a thousand. This applies to anything you are trying to learn. I am doing that with the mouth of the Winchuck River in Brookings, Oregon. The weather changes and in this study, the fog was in the distance.
I love these studies.

Winchuck Class Study - 8x10 Oil on Linen

Bandana Cat

Here is my daily cat painting. She reminds me of a cat we had name Patience. Same coloring.

"Bandana Cat" 6x6 Oil on Canvas

Overworked My Homework

I did my homework assignment from Terry Miura's class and was so careful about my brushstrokes... until the end. I overworked the ground and side of the barn because I didn't know what the heck to do with it. No plan = Overworked. That is basic art math.

"Semi-Retired"  8x10 Oil on Linen SOLD

We Are Out of What?

Today I am working on a smaller canvas. A 6X6. This cat had a very round face and I got the feeling he was trying to tell his owner something. Knowing my cat, it is normally about cat food.

"We Are Out Of What?"  6X6 Oil on Canvas

This is my daily cat painting. Enjoy.

It's Good To Be King

This is Benjamin. He was brought into my husband's office for adoption. My husband wasn't there that day and another co-worker adopted him. I bring up my husband not being there because I would adopted this cat in a heartbeat. He looks just like our old Boxer Thomas. Cat-a-tude and all.

"It's Good To Be King"  8X8 Oil on Canvas SOLD

He actually came with his own crown.  Notice the dipped right eye. We know who is king in Benjamin's household. 
I loved painting this cat of the day.

Here Is My Cat Today

After Randy Blasquez's wonderful instruction, I raced home, made dinner and returned to my easel to paint. Art - the healthy addiction.  Here is my cat painting today. It was fun.

"You Looking At Me?" 8X8 Oil on  Canvas

Balancing Light and Dark

When I took my first college art class, I was told by my instructor that I had no anger nor passion because I had no dark in my drawings. They were all too light.  I heard him loud and clear and tried to push my work darker and I still struggle with it today. Now, I afraid to push my work too light.

Today I struggled with the same problem in Randy Blasquez''s class. She instructed us on how to paint a beautiful under painting using transparent paints.  Once that dried, we worked to keep the under painting showing. It was challenging.
I loved the assignment. I kept some of the under painting but I didn't push values in the light enough.
Once afraid of the dark and now afraid the light.  I will find balance.
Notice how my vase got smaller and my roses bigger. What was I thinking?

Finished study.

Under painting.

Getting Closer

I am getting closer to what I envision when painting cats with oils. I read the book "Art and Fear" and I realize what I may see in my mind will always be different than what I paint. I can live with that.... maybe.

"There You Are" 6x6 Oil on Canvas

Resurrecting Boxer Thomas

Our old tom cat, Boxer Thomas,  passed away a few year ago. He was my inspiration for cat watercolors and I stopped painting cats after he died.  A year or so later after Boxer Thomas' death, I struggled a few times to paint him in oil and gave up. I decided this week to try a different approach.  Limit my palette, use a loose, bright under painting  take my time, think shapes rather than the cat and put down each brush stroke like I meant it.
Here is my first pass at Boxer Thomas. I am really enjoying resurrecting this cat.
I need to fix the right side his face a bit. Darken and reshape his  right eye and adjust the color under his right ear. So I am taking a short cat nap first and then back to painting.

"There You Are" 6x6 Oil On Canvas

Happy Father's Day

Happy Father's Day to all of you men who are fathers especially my husband.  It is a gift to have him in both our son and my life. 

Lights, Shadows and My C-A-T

"Waiting" 9x9 Oil on Canvas -SOLD

I took another photo of my cat and printed it out black and white. I wanted to keep practicing the concept of light and shadows rather than c-a-t.  I toned the canvas with paynes gray and transparent red oxide. I drew the shapes and then pulled out the lights with a viva paper towel. I blocked in the darks darker then painted the lights. I spent less than two hours trying to keep it loose and without a lot of detail. I like it but it still isn't quite to where I want it to be. More practice. I have another photo of her I will try, again,  tomorrow.

Rest, Relaxation and Sheeba

I took the day off yesterday to swim with the fishes at a river about an hour from me. It was just as I remembered it but now there is a fee. A restoration project is going on there including making this old Shell gas station into a general store. I can't wait to see the results.

Now, onto other news. I finished my painting of Sheeba this morning and will start another one of her today. She models for Fancy Feast, fresh water in a glass, a lap, and a clean litter box. Smart cat.

"Light My Way" 9X12 Oil on Linen

Painting Cats in Oil Means More Practice

I have mentioned more than once that I painted cats in watercolors. I would draw the feline and if I saw I drawing error, I wouldn't erase it. I would just correct it by drawing over it. That gave my work an interesting effect.
I used a limited palette of paynes grey, phalo blue, quinacridone gold and permanent rose.  I would leave the white of the paper, use large brush strokes and let it all drip. I would spatter and scrape the piece until I was happy with the results.  My focus was the face. I would paint the eyes first. That was the most detail I would put in the painting.
I am trying to create a similar effect with oils and having a heck of time. I am trying not to put too much detail in and keep the painting loose. Instead, I find I am overworking it and have to redraw the cat over and over again. Frustrating.  But I guess we all know what that means. Practice, practice, practice.
Here is a quick study of Sheeba. Our Siamese cat.

Assignment Completed...

Here is my finished homework assignment. It was a good lesson. The road bothered me. I couldn't  get it warm enough so I warmed it and lightened it. I didn't overly describe the tree. I added a few branches. I fussed a bit too much on the focal house. The light on the roof looks overworked to me. I have to remember to put it down and leave it. 

Final

Yesterday's First Pass

Fishing Then Painting

I got up early this morning to go trout fishing before it got too hot for me and the trout. The carp were the only ones enjoying the heat as they splashed along the shore in the reeds.  I got home by noon and started on a "homework" assignment from Terry Miura's landscape class.
That is probably why I felt the need to go fishing. I used to do the same thing in high school. Fishing came first over homework when the weather was good... and the weather is always good to go fishing.

Here is the first pass. I am trying not to overwork it to keep the under painting. The road  reads too cool so I will have to warm it up.  And most of all I do not want to muck it up. So I am taking a break and will look at it, again, tomorrow.  I painted it on a 6X12 canvas. 

Sheeba Is Turning 18 In August

Here is probably the cutest picture of our cat, Sheeba, since she isn't very photogenic.  I think she has a "No pictures, please" look on her face.  She turns 18 this August and we have lots of unsuccessful pictures of her.  At Sheeba's check up at the veterinarian yesterday, it sounds like she will  continue to be us a very long time.

Attached is a video of Sheeba enjoying her cat mint. Hard to believe she is almost 18 years old. 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ByIczvcIbso

Winchuck River, Again

"Come On In" 8X10 Canvas on Board

Here is my painting of the Winchuck River. Yes, the water really is that beautiful green. If you get an opportunity, you should see it. The water is inviting but cold.  Bring a fishing pole, a kayak or both.

Let Me See...

I printed out a black and white of a picture I took of the Winchuck River. When I took the shot, I was about 10 miles up the river and it was a gorgeous day. Colors around me had me asking the other plein air painter, Rob Decker, how in the world do you paint that? I was in awe of colors and shapes that I was seeing as if for the first time.
That is what studying art does to you. Every day you see more than you thought you could imagine. And when you see it all, you need to know how to organize it. Else, how can you ever paint it in a way that makes sense to you and the viewer?

I took out a piece of  scrap board and began to organize the painting. The trees in the back need to be pushed back more to distinguish from the branches and tree in the lower left. The branches need to be a different color than the rocks. The rocks in the foreground needs to be pushed lighter or darker than the other rocks in the background.  I will revisit it tomorrow and then put it on a larger canvas.

Mount Emily and The Checto River

I painted at the Checto River today with a beautiful view of Mount Emily. It was overcast but still pretty.  After finishing my piece, I decided that with overcast day I should push the under painting more. I will post the painting after I fix the values.... maybe.

Winchuck Nursery Paintout

I met up wtih fellow painters, Rob Decker and Kathy Huxley,  today to paint the beautiful Winchuck Nursery. What a wonderful opportunity. I chose a tree I think they call a flame tree as my focal point. I did my thumbnail sketches. Chose the one I liked. Made sure my focal point was not in the middle of my composition and began to create a plein air piece.
At the end of my session, I realized I had painted that *#@& tree right in the middle of my canvas.
The roof needs to be lighter and the yellow side of the barn is cooler. It was a multi-colored barn so that is why it is peach on the far right. Good lesson.
I still can't believe that tree is in the middle....

You Hike It In. You Hike It Out.

I took another plein air adventure today by going out to a secluded area on the Winchuck River below the Ludlum House.  I noticed immediately the bear tracks in the mud and sand.  There were, also, bear warning signs around.  That did not deter me. I had another plein air artist who I knew I could out run. You know the old joke, you don't need to out run the bear just the other person.
The day campsites gates were closed  due to budget so we had to park our vehicles and hike in. I went as light as I could with my equipment  which was smart. What wasn't smart was I only had small tubes of transparent oil and no opaque. I assumed I had all my materials in my carrying bag. I grabbed a cheap board which didn't help either. So, I fought my material which any artist knows is a headache.
I hiked it in and I had to hike it out twice. I had a wet painting and didn't bring the carrier attachment to my guerrilla box. So that was an extra trip up the hill and to my van.

Photo of the Winchuck River in Oregon

I did enjoy painting and  cooling myself in the 45 degree water. I waded out just long enough to cool down. I saw a frog, Oregon swallowtail butterflies, a not -so- skinny dipper  and minnows. I enjoyed my lunch listening to the water and sitting in the sun.
It was great paint day.  Thank you, again, God.