More Cats!

An archaeological project in Wyoming took me away from the studio for two weeks.Since returning, I've been busy making up for the down time. I've only been back home for four days, but those have proven very productive. Posted below are photos of some of the works in progress. The last two paintings shown (Miss Smith and Harley) were started before the Wyoming trip.  All the works are oil on stretched canvas. As with all my works, these are done totally free-hand directly with brush and paint. Be sure to click on the images to see each in a larger format.

This painting is of Wilson. He's an older fellow. I think this is the cat who is missing a front leg (and it looks like possibly some toes too?) but his profile is not posted now (it use to be.) He is what I'd call a long-faced cat -- his nose is noticeably longer than average. In this painting I plan to have him sitting on either a colorful quilt or floral sheet and I will "pose" the fabric on the studio table as a model to work from for the folds and pattern placement. I may or may not paint in anything behind Wilson (perhaps a pillow or two. I want to make this work Wilson's dream image of his "forever home." His markings and color are subtle and very beautiful. I still have more to ad to Wilson's fur pattern and, of course, his whiskers. The painting measures 16 x 18 inches (40.64 x 45.72 cm.)

The next painting is of Whiskers, a 21 year old with a large round head, small intense eyes and LOTS of white whiskers. I decided it would be nice to depict Whiskers in a tulip bed. Over the years I've used tulips symbolically in my art. As always, they allude to spring and the rebirth or continuation of life and, because they are a bulb plant, they also speak to the persistence of life.
The painting of Whiskers is 14 x 11 inches (35.56 x 21.94 cm.)

The next painting is of Miss Smith. This cat's name dictated my attitude and sensibilities while painting the work. The formality of the name comes out in the formality of the painting. The blue background wall will have ginko leaves arranged in a non-distracting design/color/pattern to suggest 1800s wallpaper or 1700s stencil. To me, this painting as it is has a "colonial" feel to it -- perhaps because it is still plain and simple but also because of the conventions of the body and face. Once I add whiskers and a few other details, perhaps that will change the feel of the work. I will place a feather on the red carpet in front of the cat. I think Miss Smith should "marry" Whiskers and then whichever one gets adopted first, the other will tag along. Miss Smith's painting is 24 x 24 inches (60.96 x 60.96 cm.)

Next is a cat named Harley. This is a young cat that has some of the qualities of an ocelot. I'll title this work "Urban Camouflage" as the potted snake plant resembles Harley's fur pattern. Still a bit to do on this painting too. This painting seems to appear a little darker on the computer screen than what it actually is. It measures 24 x 20 inches (60.96 x 50.8 cm.)

The next painting is an older cat named Bonnie. When I started painting Bonnie's portrait, I got the name Emily in my head and by the time I'd gotten the preliminary sketch done, the name Emily had pushed the cat's actual name completely out of my brain. Hence my thoughts wandered to the short story, "A Rose for Emily." And that led to the rose on the carpet and the wall paper (not yet done) which will depict a subtle rose stencil design. I find Bonnie an interesting cat because of her very round head (which makes her eyes seem smallish, minimalist markings and white body with dark tail. Like the painting of Harley, this work seems a little bit darker on the computer screen than it does in reality. Bonnie's portrait painting is 18 x 24 inches (45.72 x 60.96 cm.)

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.

Bizou again!

This afternoon I sketched in oil a 3.75 x 5.5 inch study on canvas paper of the cat Bizou. Bizou is the large black and white cat I posted a painting of a couple days ago. This time I focused on his head and primarily his eyes, which are interesting because they are actually bi-colored (particularly his right eye.) Again, limited palette: venetian red, ultramarine blue, naples yellow and yellow ochre (which I mixed with the background hue.) I consider this sketch essentially finished and probably won't visit it again other than to frame it. I am pleased with the eyes, especially because it's a small work  Click on the images to see them larger.
(NOTE: I've edited this post by putting the finished/signed work in place of the in-progress image.)

Urban Tree Branch - Black Cat

This painting is shown here in-progress, though I don't feel like there is much, if anything, more to paint or adjust. I rather like it just the way it is and feel like maybe all it needs most is my signature. I title this one "Urban Tree Branch" because it reminds me of how the big wild cats will drape themselves on tree branches to either snooze or keep an eye on everything below. It is oil paint on stretched canvas and measures 14 x 18 inches.  Click on any of the images to see them larger.

This painting is very loosely done and also very loosely based on a small photo reference. As always, I free-hand sketched with a number 4 filbert brush and blue/red paint. Like the little Calico kitten I posted previously, this study is done on one of my existing paintings, in this case one of my "warm-up" paintings. Below are a couple of close-ups of details from this work.

I like the accidental overlays and adjustments that happen when I work quickly, as I did with this painting. And of course, the underlying painting contributes something to the work as well. I used titanium white and just three colors here: naples yellow, ultramarine blue, and venetian red. No black.

The cat's outstretched leg and paw would seem "unfinished" but in this stage it also is highly suggestive of motion. Something for me to think about -- do I refine it more or leave it as it is. I'm inclined to do the latter.

In this last detail view, the hind side of the cat is very sketchy in appearance too. The tail pinched against the legs or partially hidden in the pink cloth that is covering the back of the upholstered sofa. Accent pillows are propped on the sofa's back and make a more interesting backdrop for the cat rather than a blank wall.

Ten days ago I started with no paintings of cats. Now I have close to 40. Gradually I will post more of these works on this blog.

Cats! More Cats!

Today when I left the studio, I didn't count how many cat oil paint studies I have as of today, but I'm sure it's close to two dozen - maybe more. Here's my favorite one so far; I think it has the highest "cute" rating:

This study (and the others in this post) will be worked on a bit more - perhaps not much at all, as I'm satisfied with it as it is at this stage. Maybe all I'll do is add some whiskers. The background colors are the remnants of an earlier landscape study on this masonite panel. I like working on top of previous works and in this case, the existing pattern of colors added greatly to the white areas of the kitten's chest, belly and legs. THis painting measures 7 x 9 inches. Below are two close-ups of details from this work. First, the face. If this were a real kitten, I'd take it home!

In the next detail, the positive contribution of the underlying painting's colors is especially great in the legs and body. Click on the images in this post to see them in a larger format.

The next photos posted here are studies based on a few of the very few responses I got to a facebook posting I made several months ago when I called for 100 pets to paint in 100 days. No strings attached. The low "turn out" was disappointing (five pets from four people) so it blew my project. 

But yesterday I decided to do small studies of those pets that were submitted to the project. These are not "complete" yet, though like the kitten shown above, I might leave them as they are. The next few days at the studio will see what happens. 

This oil study is of a cat named Bizou. It is oil paint on masonite panel and measures about 5.5 x 8 inches

Here's a detail from the study of Bizou. This cat has some interesting markings on its muzzle and also two little "freckles" of color on each of its forelegs:

This next study is of a cat named Hobbes. In the photo Hobbes was stretched out on a wooden deck. The owner indicated that Hobbes had not survived an encounter with a vehicle. With that thought, I decided to portray Hobbes as if lying on a grassy space. Besides some adjustments to the cat's coat color and whiskers to add, I also envision painting some gone-to-seed dandelions in. Those will represent both the fleeting and the promise of life. This study measures about 7 x 9 inches.

In the detail shown below, you can see the transparency of some of the colors as they are layered one over the other. This was a fun cat to paint.

Okay, so this next one is not a cat. There were three different dogs submitted. This one is named Sam. A very fine looking fellow. As with the other studies posted here, this one is photographed on the easel and so there is some light bounce from the surface that could not be avoided with the camera. Like the others, this is also an oil paint on masonite. Although the eyes haven't been done yet, the work reads well at this stage. It measures about 7 x 9 inches

Gotta Have It

The cat as subject is really taking off in the studio. Fun to take on something new and I plan to follow it as far as it wants to go. Some works are or will be of specific cats and some invented. But Neko will be sprinkled throughout (scroll down the column at right to see a photo of Neko when she was just a "pup".)

So here's a small (4 by 5 inch) oil sketch of something Neko is good at doing -- swiping goodies from the table! I've titled it "Gotta Have It."

The actual incident that inspired this little painting happened a few months ago during a breakfast. Neko decided to "see" my jellied toast with her paw. I remember just catching, out of the corner of my eye, Neko's sideways head tilt and then WHAP! I don't think I actually saw her paw hit my toast - she was lightning fast! A flash and then she was licking plum jam from between her toes.

In this quick oil sketch I simplified everything and focused on the head tilt that cats do when they are eye-balling something they want to grab on the sly. Tail straight out for counterbalance and a paw on the table cloth just in case. Instead of toast, I show a pancake topped with whip cream and cherry because it "reads" better in a painting this small.

Below is a close up of the "action" - keep in mind when you click on it that you're seeing it significantly larger than the actual work.

"Gotta Have It" is painted on a wood panel. It's probably birch (most of my panels are) but I'm not totally certain as I had painted on it some time ago (a landscape sketch.) The prior painted surface is what gives this work some of it's accidental texture. I used a number four filbert hog bristle brush and manipulate it in anyway I can to get the marks I want. I don't worry about placing every stroke just right when I work like this.

Recent change of subject: Cats

Well, this has been an interesting week. Clouds and landscapes continue to be my dominant subject but cats are slinking in here and there. Cats have always been in some of my studio work, but as the third year since Canuck's passing draws near there seems to be a growing need to paint cats - especially black cats. The portrait of Vern the orange tabby (see my previous post) set the ball rolling to try other colors and patterns of cats. Following are three studies painted with ordinary acrylic water-based wall paint using only red, yellow, blue and white (and a small dash of black here and there at the finish.)

This first painting measures 6 x 8.5 inches. 

Very little actual black paint is used. My challenge was to paint a black cat without using black as the main color. 

This is a memory sketch of Neko and how she looks so intense with her ears turned back so sharply that they look like little horns on her head. She cuts this expression when she's deciding whether to grab something (usually me) or spit or tear off in the opposite direction. She usually vocalizes the instant she has made up her mind what to do and then springs into action!

I like the sketchy quality I'm getting out of the wall paints and the immediacy of them--they dry so quick I can layer lines and color fields almost immediately and build up texture qualities. This is great because that means the paint is able to "keep up" with my thought process and nothing is slowed down. This painting consumed just five minutes. 

At the right is a detail section from the work  The layers of lines and colors are very visible. I might change the background color a bit when I go back to the studio tomorrow, but possibly I will decide to leave it as it is and sign the work. This painting is titled "Seeing the Unseen."

Click on the images to see them larger. 

This next work (also in wall paint with just the colors mentioned earlier) is a cute little tuxedo cat that belongs to a member of a group I belong to. Again, this is a quickly done painting - about 15 minutes. I title this one simply "Tux with Bell."

The painting measures 6 x 6 inches. I especially like the asymmetry of the white blaze on his face. Again, the layering of lines and colors was lots of fun and the fast drying paints let me work continuously without stopping. My brain and hand were able to work in complete immediate unison.

I'm satisfied with how the eyes appear -- exhibiting a certain amount of "depth" similar to what can be accomplished in oil paint. But wall paint is totally opaque so to get the effect of glazes it was a matter of getting the colors "right" in relationship (value and hue) to each other within the eye.

The little gold jingle bell around this cat's neck is a nice touch. I treated the white bib as a wash and overlapped the black with it to suggest the intermingling of white and black hair.

This last painting is of Sierra's cat named K.C. Like Vern in my earlier post, K.C.is, as they say, on the other side of the rainbow bridge. The reference was a small image on Sierra's photo pod (or whatever those things are called.) Not a great reference photo but good enough to see the main marking/color patterns and general shape of this cat. Sierra said K.C. did not like having his photo taken and he shows it by holding his head downward and turning one ear back.

This was another 15 minute painting in wall paint. Like the other works in this posting, this is on canvas paper.

And, like the others, only the three primary colors and white are used along with just a few accent marks in black. This work is signed, as I considered it complete at the end of the session. The paper it was painted on had an incomplete single still life object on it from a painting session the previous evening. A slight hint of the object impacts the blue above the cat's head and gives the appearance of a halo - appropriate for a departed cat. Below is a close up detail from this work.

 One final note: As with all my art, these works are free-hand and drawn/painted with a hog bristle brush.

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.

"Goose Woman"

This work spent time as a "warm-up" painting in the studio. What that means, essentially, is that now and then it ended up on the easel those times when I wasn't quite ready to paint on any of the in-progress works. I usually have about two or three works that are in the "warm-up" category. These paintings get painted, scraped down, repainted, over-worked, under-worked, and generally pushed around until I'm either tired of them or something suddenly clicks and I end up with a "keeper" instead of an addition to the discard box.

Early on, I titled this "Goose Woman." Originally this title referred to the figure's ample thighs combined with a "pigeon-toe-like" stance. At that point, the birds were sandhill cranes. The scene was evening/moonlight because at the time I was painting plenty of night/moonlit landscapes, so this allowed me to test out colors or approaches without worrying about messing up one of the works in-progress. Warm-up paintings seldom make it to "finished work" status because of this process. But day before yesterday, "Goose Woman" clicked and so now it has a lovely pale yellow mat and awaits a frame.

I've found that "Goose Woman" is a difficult work to photograph. Outdoors in natural diffused light (north side of my studio) it takes on more blue than it actually is. Indoors it becomes very warm-toned with sepia and honey yellow tones. The photo above is as close as I can get to the actual color of the work. There is a slight glare visible in the upper left from the overhead lamp.

The detail photo at the right shows the overall tonal quality the painting takes on when placed under incandescent light. I think under this light it reminds me of some of Renoir's romantic female figurative works.

The golden highlights in the hair fall beyond the hair into the reeds and read as fireflies.

Below is the painting, with matting, on my framing table. I even like this work upside down! The painting is about 12 by 22 inches. Outside dimension of the mat is 19 by 29 inches.

So, now the question is: Do I keep this work in my "studio collection" of works that still speak to me at some level, or do I offer it for sale at Etsy? And if so, then what price to place on it? "Goose Woman" is truly a "one of a kind" among my studio works, so with nothing to compare it to (other than size) it is not as easily priced as other paintings are.

Readers, please comment with your thoughts. Thanks!

Fiberglass Bison now in Custer, South Dakota

A few weeks ago the bison was ready for the clear coat to seal it against the elements. Then the local auto paint shop said they couldn't do it. So I bought the acrylic varnish to brush on. I emailed the client in Custer, South Dakota, and as a result found out the bison had to be clear-coated with the automotive sealant and there was a shop in Custer that would do the job.

So, all set to drive the bison to Custer on Friday, May 27th (when I returned from my art residency in Pendleton, Oregon.) Upon returning to Lewistown that day, I learned that substantial portions of the roads I needed to travel were closed due to major flooding -- in fact, the town of Roundup, MT was under six feet of water from the Musselshell River. I phoned the client and it was agreed that I wait out the weather and the re-opening of at least one good route.
The sun finally prevailed on Tuesday, May 31st, so the bison was loaded into an 8 ft UHaul trailer, hitched to the truck and headed to Custer at 5:30 a.m. the next day (when it started to rain -- again.) Custer was reached in time to drop off the bison at the shop that would clear-coat the bison. Yea!

The photos posted here of the finished and clear-coated bison were taken at the Steele Collision shop (either in the spray booth or outside the shop.) The outdoor installation sites for all of the fiberglass bison are not expected to be ready until mid-June. Until then, the fiberglass "herd" will be in safe storage. Click on the photos to see a larger image.

 One side depicts prairie, some distant bison and native cone flowers (also known as Mexican Hat flowers.) Clouds are building into thunderheads and large thunderhead moves over the bison's shoulder hump and head.

I used a rich brown hue on the hooves to represent the deepest connection to the earth, followed by a reddish brown/sepia to signify the fertile soils. The yellowish (ochre) represents the vegetation. A slight hint of red beneath some of the horizon-touching rain curtain of the large thunderhead signifies fire started by the lighting of the passing storm

The flip side of the bison depicts essentially the same prairie landscape, except this scene shows a harvest operation underway in the distance instead of more bison. In the foreground is wheat -- prairie has been transformed from native plants to the mono-culture cropland

Overall, I'm pleased with how this turned out. It would have been great to have more time to create this. The short turn-around schedule was cut even shorter by a 10-day delay in shipping/arrival of the fiberglass bison plus another 7 days lost to prep and prime several areas that the manufacturer completely missed in the priming process.

Fiberglass Bison in-progress

The current 3-D project at my studio is a fiberglass Bison for the City of Custer, South Dakota. The purpose of the project is not to create a "real Bison" look but rather to create a painting of any theme desired. My concept is to suggest a prairie landscape/skyscape that will show a thunderstorm passing over, with a lightning strike/fire at the horizon. The large thunderhead will flow over the area that is the Bison's hump/neck.head. On one flank the prairie will portray a Bison herd in the middle ground and native grasses/flowers in the foreground (up the Bison's legs.) On the opposite flank side a wheat harvest operation is trying to beat the storm and cultivated wheat is in the foreground.
I've posted a photo of the Fiberglass Bison and some photos of the first stage in the painting process. For those interested, I am using Golden Acrylics with GAC 200 hardener added and applying it with a soft brush.

Photo above is the Bison just before taking it into my studio. I'd visited the manufacturer's website prior to being selected for the project and got the dimensions, so I knew it would easily fit through the door. I didn't have to take the door off the hinges either. The manufacturer says this is a life-size Bison. Well, maybe a life-size Bison yearling calf. I've seen and drawn real bison up close, both at the Calgary Zoo (Alberta) and at the American Prairie Foundation's prairie preserve (northeast of Lewistown, Montana.) Couple other things I noticed about this fiberglass Bison is that it has no ears and no testicles. His (Hers? Its?) front hooves are not splayed at all and are small even for the size of the Bison.
Oh well. I'm not painting it to make it look like a real Bison, so those are probably "minor" details in the larger scheme of things.
The photos below show the first stage of painting. More in-progress photos will be posted as my time allows.

 RIGHT - Five color bands base coats for Thunderhead/storm; Sky; Prairie & Wheat; Soil (reddish brown - symbolizes portion of earth that contains remains of all that's been and nourishes all that is); and Deep Earth that reaches beyond what Native Americans typically refer to as "Time Immemorial."

Left side

Right side

Hind side

Head - Front

Spring is getting closer. . .

Even though the calendar indicates it is officially "spring", the actual weather here has been more winter than spring. Every night I still have to bring all my art supplies in from the car and then re-load them all in the morning before I leave to teach at whatever school I'm scheduled for on any particular day. Today the school was in Winifred, a small town about 50 miles north of my studio. The day was sunny with lots of interesting clouds and plenty of gentle winds. Here's a panoramic photo taken from the road on the return home around 5 p.m. and about halfway home to Lewistown.:

Click on the photo to see a much larger version. The mountains in the far distance (toward the middle of the horizon) are the Big Snowies (which are just south of Lewistown) and the mountains that start at the left are the Judiths. The mountains to the left of center are the south Moccasins.