Cat in Iris Jungle, third in-progress

Here's Thomas Big Eater as it progressed today. I did scrape down some of the previous day's work in the face area, which left a nice patina to work over top of. I like the effect that can often have on the final paint layers. (The cat named Wilson in a blog post a few days ago was also the result of scraping down paint - in that one the result was a very atmospheric effect.) The lighting was not 100 percent correct for the camera shot for colors but it's pretty close and certainly close enough to convey the direction this painting is taking. Click photos for larger view.

First, here's a close-up of the eyes. The larger size of this painting (versus some of the tiny ones I've done) let me focus on this cat's luminous lime-green eyes. It was the intensity of the eyes that made me decide to create an Iris "jungle" for this cat to be strolling through. I'll be painting in the whiskers in the next studio session.

And then, a look at the whole painting. I'm pleased with how this is going thus far. But still tossing around whether or not to make the iris flowers white or blue (realizing, of course, that either color will not be "pure" white or "pure" blue, but will have all kinds of subtle hues and values throughout.)