Go quickly!

This is a little piece I started Friday and finished today.  It measures 10 x 6.5" and was painted on a silk mat board. Due to texture and reflection it is a little difficult to photograph. This is the best I can do today.  Anyway, the point is, after hours and hours of work on a bigger piece, with no end in sight, I decided to stop for a bit to do something easy and fun.  This is called Roadside.

Love Color!

This WIP of Thomas the cat has turned into an exploration of values and color. By taking a very simple subject, I'm able to focus on light and how color changes as it becomes shadow. I haven't completed the background yet, but will give myself some time to walk around the piece.  So far, I'm pretty pleased.

Light, Shadow and Cats!

You may notice that I have been painting and drawing cats all summer. My gallery person says she likes my cats and horses the best. I have never really thought about specializing in one particular subject until recently. There are many CP artists who so consistently stick to one subject or style that they are branded. One of my heros, Ester Roi,  is a CP artist and inventor, known for giant technicolored pebbles. Her palette is so striking, that whatever she chooses to paint, be it flowers or pebbles, there's no doubt that it's hers. From a business stand point branding is good.  An artist needs to be recognized.  And with so many of us out there competing for your wall space, recognition is key. So I'm going to continue painting cats for a while.  They are fascinating creatures, with one foot in the wild and the other in our homes. They are graceful, beautiful and mysterious. I will continue also to explore light and texture and how they describe the subject.  This WIP cat is Thomas.  He lives at the veterinary clinic where I work as a vet assistant. He pretty much OWNS the place! Stay tuned to see how he develops.

Letter to the Editor

This wonderful letter is found in the current issue of JAVMA and refers to last month's issue (June 15) which featured Ears on the cover. The ears have it

I wanted to say that the artwork appearing on the cover of the June 15, 2013 issue is in my opinion one of the most beautiful pieces of art that you have ever published.  Margi Hopkin's colored pencil drawing of the cat entitled "Ears" had gorgeous detail and was stunningly realistic, likely a result of her great talent as well as her close observation of the feline form during her work as a veterinary technician.  I would love to see more of her work featured in future issues.

Michele Rosenbaum, VMD, DACVD- Webster NY

 

 

Graphite Study and decision making.

When I start a commission project, I often create a preliminary sketch. Here, my client provided several photographs, with lighting so interesting, we could not agree which was our favorite. Hence, the vertical triptych idea came to be. This drawing, though time consuming, was critical in making  compositional decisions. It also allowed practice rendering. And as much as I love the concept, the piece ended up too big for my client, who preferred to go with the central cat shown in the sketch. Good thing I didn't just jump into the project without exploring options first. Now I'm left with this 11x 28" graphite on watercolor paper, just waiting for a frame.  Should I make the investment?

Brooklyn Blanket.

This is Linus again.  The reference photos were taken by his mom.  "Brooklyn Blanket" is 9x8" colored pencil on fabric.  It came from the same series of photographs  used to paint the previous posting "Brooklyn Light." And if you look back further in my blog you will find  a very poor photograph of a graphite study triptych done from the same series. The first, "Brooklyn Light," was a commissioned portrait, "Brooklyn Blanket" was created to use as an artist demonstration:  painting with colored pencils and slovents on linen mat board.  It will be published in September's issue of Ann Kullberg's CP magazine.

WIP For Ann Kullberg demo, CP on linen.

This is the 4th shot taken of my work in progress. I plan to use this to accompany an artist demonstration for Ann Kullberg's cp magazine this fall. I'm painting on linen mat board. So far no solvents have been used. This will probably end up around 8x10" The reference photographs were taken by my daughter of her cat Linus.

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Finished? Perhaps. Linus

I took a picture of this painting early this morning in diffused light.  The sun wasn't over my house yet.  I  will try again later when I  can use the garage doors to bounce light.  This is a bit washed out. Any way, what do you think?  The measurement is roughly 11x14"  Mostly colored pencil with a bit of white gouache here and there for highlights.