An oil study in-progress - Vern

The last few days I've created several very small to small oil paintings of black cats. But throughout the process I also kept thinking about an orange cat named Vern who recently passed over the rainbow bridge. His coloration and expression were interesting and I visualized his portrait in oil. 

This 6 by 6 inch (15.2 X 15.2 cm) study on a wood panel is the result. When does a study become a painting? I've asked that question in this blog before. In this case, although there are some things I want to "tweek" a bit (but not much--add a few hints of whiskers), I feel that this study reaches beyond itself and becomes a painting. Click on the images for a larger view to open.

 The colors in the photos posted here are very close in hue to the actual work but the brightness is not. The painting is far more vivid and the oranges remind me of Van Gogh's self portraits showing his flaming red/orange beard. Like most oil paintings, there is some glare on the paint surface which is visible in the photo but not a distraction in the actual work. The panel had been gesso-primed earlier and exhibited groves in the paint that are still visible in this painting. Although strong, these groves add a textural quality to the portrait.

Personally, I like this painting of Vern.

"North Of Town"

"North Of Town" is a 5 x 7 inch oil painting. The town referred to is Lewistown and time of year is late winter, when the snow is getting yellowing thin. This is a memory work--i.e., I created it based on landscapes recalled from auto trips taken in the area. My initial intent was to create a study that would resolve some compositional thoughts leading to a larger work. When it reached this state, it felt "finished." Pinning it to the studio wall, I left it to dry for several weeks and then decided to sign and frame it.

Oregon landscape

This untitled painting was intended to be a study for a larger work (I'll call it "Eagle Cap Mountain - Study" for this blog entry.)
Once this study reached the state shown here, it possessed the qualities that I desired to reaccomplish in a larger work to come. As with most of my studio work, I personally prefer the "unpolished" studies to the later works such studies often lead to. I'm interested in the spontaneous feel the study achieves --- or maybe, more accurately, the "presence" of air and light resulting from translucent layers of paint which I build up over several painting sessions.
(Eagle Cap Mountain is in the Eagle Cap Wilderness in eastern Oregon -- an area I've hiked/camped in many times. The suggestion of a body of water in the middle ground represents Mirror Lake.)