Hobbes again!

This cat is Hobbes. I may have mentioned this in an earlier post but repeat it here: Hobbes passed away from injuries received in an encounter with a vehicle. In an earlier entry to this blog I posted the first study of this cat. Here is a second study, again in oil paint but this time on canvas paper; the image measures about 4 x 5.75 inches. As with all the cat paintings thus far, I used only three colors plus Titanium White: Yellow ochre, venitian red; ultramaring blue..Click images for larger view.
(NOTE: I've edited this post by putting the finished/signed work in place of the photo of the work-in-progress.) 

The greenish line that appears in places where the cat form meets the background color was an accidental result that I liked well enough to leave in place. It came about as the result of three other actions: First, I'd painted the background a yellow and then, not satisfied it was the color needed there, I wiped it out with a rag. Next I painted the background a mixed green (lemon yellow and ultramarine blue) but wiped it out too. That left a bit of green in places around the edges of the cat, which I left when I decided to paint the background venitian red with a touch of yellow ochre. I liked the result and so left it.

Cat eyes -- well, any kind of eyes -- are just plain magic fun to do. I use hog hair brushes so it is a challenge to paint the details. It means you don't "worry" them. One stroke. If it's "right" then great. If not, wipe and make another stroke. I get to know the brush very well and automatically turn it one way or another to take advantage of any traits it may have developed from use and then put those to use.

With Hobbes I decided to scratch the whiskers in rather than paint them in as I'd done with the painting of Bizou in the previous post.