Monday, February 24, 2014

 

A Cat Named Rose:  I entered this painting in the Finley River Mystery Box Competition.  It won best of show and received perfect scores from both judges.  When I was ready to put this in the frame my husband declared that it was a really good painting. 

This photo was done quickly lying in the window before I framed it.  I will have to bring it home this weekend to get a proper photo.

I made the mistake of putting this on an easel an hour before it was due.  I did not like how it looked from a distance.  Paintings always look different when viewed upright from the nearly flat working surface.  I got real busy making corrections.

this is a good start for the new year. 


Friday, February 7, 2014

A Cat Named Rose.


This is the last day to paint on this one...well maybe a little in the morning, if mat is ready and the camera is set up for photo.  To many times I throw a painting into the frame before the photo is taken.'' Ugh!

After the drawing was done I have really enjoyed painting this.  There is still a lot to do. but I seem to get a lot done when I sit down.  I make  many major changes at this point.  Some of the best stuff happens in a painting's last hours. 

Right after I took this photo I turned the painting over to wet the back and then staple it down on a board.  Painting on 300 lb. paper is great freedom, but eventually it curls and needs and good flattening.  It is asking the mat to do too much in holding such a heavy paper flat.  Later warping will occurs and then I have to take it all apart and fix things. 

I'm thinking that I wish to big the turned paw up a bit and maybe one of the ears.  I used several photos from the Images in yahoo tocome up with my cat'spose.  This creates execution problems, but must never copy form other's photos without permission.  The images must only be a reference.  In other words:  an ear comes from here and a pose from there, head slant, a paw, eyes are all melded into my own creation.  Then the photos have to be ignored for other details.  It is much easier when I take photos myself. 

I promise to post the finished painting soon.