12"X12" Oil on canvas
I delivered this commission a few days ago but forgot to take a final photo before I let it go. I went over tonight and took a picture, not a very good reproduction because I had to adjust for the tungsten light. They say that they like it but it was one of the hardest things I have ever done. I am not keen on commissions anyway, I tend to agonize too much. This one was especially hard because I had no good reference photos, just a bunch of snapshots, none of them showing the animals together. These are also the only "children" of a childless couple, so the pressure was really on.
I already see lots of things I shold have done differently, but it is done now, thank heavens!
To see WIP go here and here
7″X5″ Pen on paper
“A portrait is a picture in which there is just a tiny little something not quite right about the mouth. (John Singer Sargent)” (or the eyes).
5″X7″ Oil on board
Time to play with some texture. I really enjoyed this one, getting the fuzzy softness of her fur, it almost looks like pastel doesn’t it? This was originally a watercolour I did about a year ago, the light seems very April somehow. Klein, my notoriously grumpy cat, was sitting by the door, soaking up a little Spring sunshine. Her left eye is blind but she seems to manage OK. Maybe it accounts for her grumpiness though.
7″X5″Pencil on paper
I hadn’t been in my sister’s house for five minutes when her elderly cat made herself comfortable on my lap. She was a little irritated by by inattention to the important task of stroking her, but she put up with me anyway. This was actually quite gratifying as my famously grumpy cat, Klein, doesn’t “do” laps at all. In fact she really doesn’t like me very much so it was nice to borrow a real cat for a while.
9″X7″ Charcoal, chalk and sepia on grey paper
There was time when I used this combination a lot. I do find it very messy and it is difficult to copy because you can’t just put it facedown on a scanner. However, I am determined to use more different kinds of media here and this was always one of my favourites.
5.5″X3.5″ Pen on paper
This is my chair really, but we agree to disagree on this point.
Well I missed a day, more for lack of computer (and scanner) access than anything. I think that it will be mostly Mondays and Wednesdays that I will be taking off though, because they are the most difficult for me. I see that my new computer is now in stock, so I should have it fairly soon I hope. Now I just have to pray that the backup that I did just a couple of days before everything fell apart actually worked.
7″X9″ Graphite on paper
Does anyone remember that movie? She is very uncooperative, won’t sit still for five minutes.
Still without a computer so I thought I would take the easy route and post something that can easily be scanned on J’s laser scanner (b&w only). Also I spent most of the day agonizing about buying a new computer. The problem seems to go deeper than the video card, so I have been shopping around. Of course no sooner had I made up my mind than I was told that they are out of stock on that one, more in tomorrow, we shall see.
6.5″X4″ Pen on paper
My famously grumpy cat. The house is in disarray while we prepare all the new storm windows for fitting. The glass is all cut and wrapped in paper. As it is unwrapped in preparation for glazing, the paper is left lying around, in this case on her favourite couch. She can’t decide whether to be delighted or annoyed. On the one hand everyone knows that a cat can’t resist a newspaper to sit on. On the other, it makes an annoying crackling noise every time she moves. Here she is glaring at me over her shoulder. She actually maintained this position and expression for about five minutes, if looks could kill….
5″X7″ WC pencil on paper
This is one of her favourite spots, in a sunbeam, by the french doors. There is a screen on the door which isn’t apparent here so she is protected from the great scary outdoors, and the floor is about three feet off the ground. There must once have been a porch there. One day I would love to replace it