In the Art Studio

This was a good portion of today’s work.  After a lot of sketching I finally laid out my new painting, this time on cradled wood, not canvas.  Once I sketched in the entire plan it was time to choose paints. Test, mix, compare, eliminate.  Once done with all this, I make careful notes for posterity as to exact type of paint and medium.  

I wish I could show you more but don’t as a rule when I’m working on a commission.  You’ll see the painting itself soon!

Finished Puppy Commission

Here I’m showing some of my steps bringing my puppy painting to fruition.  This adorable pup is a commission I just finished - yay! Stella is a bundle of fun so I put polka dots in the background to symbolize her playfulness. Guaranteed to bring a smile of delight, this acrylic painting is only 12”x12” painted on cradled wood.  With the gold textures in the background, her mood changes with the changing light. 

First drawing upon my beautiful background:

Starting to paint in the ear now...

Both ears... :)

Watch out for that scary pic with the glowing white eyeball - zombie dog! Artists are like gardeners - going through the scary stuff, mud, seeds, weeds, zombie dogs, with their eyes on the goal, finished paintings and glorious gardens. :)

Getting there...  honestly, I love this zombie dog transition. 

Ahhh... much better.

Now we’re getting somewhere!

The photo did not show a gleam in her right eye; but neither I nor the customer liked her without it. So...

Ah! That’s much better, isn’t it? :). Now, for the finishing touches.  Fur here, texture there, little pinky nose, and voila!

I’m in love! And I don’t even have to take her outside to pee!

Watch out for that scary pic with the glowing white eyeball - zombie dog! Artists are like gardeners - going through the scary stuff, mud, seeds, weeds, zombie dogs, with their eyes on the goal, finished paintings and glorious gardens. :)

Newest Octopus Painting

Here we are - my newest painting entitled Maestro, for his commanding appearance. My octopus is done in layers of texture and color and my aim was to make it look like stained glass.  When viewed in person it is luminous and fairly glows!  You can find him on my website, 

colorcatstudios101.etsy.com

Also, I give studio tours.  My work is ever so much more beautiful in person.  Just contact me for a studio tour. The upside?  Gorgeous art in person, a peek into my studio and how I work and ... FREE GIFTS!!! Yay!  

Creative Inspiration

I believe that artists of every type are commissioned to speak for all of humankind. I myself feel a deep responsibility to use the gift, and sometimes receive comments that surprise me about how what I created has so deeply affected another person.  All I know is that if I’m true to myself and true to my God, then what I feel and create will touch others. 

I’ve also learned through the years that if I stay true to myself and true to my God and DON’T receive affirmation for my work, that’s okay too.  I know in my heart that I followed the call and did the work, and that’s what’s important.  (my quote is on a portion of one of my newest paintings).

And by the way, the INSPIRATION for this painting, of which you see a little portion, is a bag of grapefruit a friend gave me.  They had stems and leaves still attached and were gorgeous!!! I had to draw and paint them for DAYS before I could eat even one!

Mixed Media Owl

Feeling owly? Honestly, teaching art brings out the goofy weirdness in me I guess; this in-class demo was pretty fun.

They say that creative people are good decision makers; I BELIEVE!  That’s because to make even one piece of art takes SO MANY decisions!  For this piece I:

First intended to collage all the feathers. (Oh, by the way, it was an example I did in-class with my students.  I’m teaching them collage.)

Once I drew him in I decided to paint him so he’d look good if the paper showed between the collaged pieces 

Once he was painted, I didn’t want to collage him, so I decided to collage the background.

Once the background was collaged I decided to collage parts of the owl’s feathers around the edge to pull the whole piece together.

(And that ain’t the half of it! :)

Anyway, here’s looking at you!

Preparing for Art Classes/Commission

I’m starting my art classes on the journey of collage and mixed media so I thought I’d better do one as an example. I’m also working on a commission and do practice runs like this and sketches before committing to canvas.  Cute little doggo!

Here’s my initial sketch:

This time I decided to do the background first. After that some of the shadows...

Time to add in some darks.  Rather alarming, isn’t it? :) I tell my students that if they spread the darks around it won’t be alarming.  Right now the focal point is on the darkest darks.  Need to move them around a bit.

Here we go - adding more textures and shadows into the work.

The following is the finished piece.  I like leaving my works on paper loose looking.  There were so many warms in the dog that I needed to change the background to cool.  Much better.  

Creative Process Installment #4

Installment Four to my Creative Process Cat Painting explanation.  Good old thumbnail sketches.  Here are SOME of them.  Get the composition perfect or you might as well give up and go home.  Once I got the composition nailed down I did color testing to hone in on the exact colors I wanted to use to paint the cat himself.  After all these gorgeous blues, I ended up with Payne’s Grey, Carbon Black and Titanium White. The blues didn’t stand out against the background so were a poor color choice. Also, it’s funny to note that I always end up with my hand-scissored paintbrush.  It’s one of my faves because it’s EXACTLY what I want! Hold on for Installment Five, coming up next time!