Graphite portraits, powerful and beautiful.

This triptych study of my daughter's cat Linus has had more Facebook shares and likes and pins than I ever imagined.  I did several cp paintings from the series of reference photos taken of Linus two from the graphite study. The graphite triptych sold to an extreme cat lover who set aside money from her limited retirement income for five months.   She was delighted to finally unwrap the framed piece after months of waiting.  As luck would have it,  I was at the gallery to witness the reveal.  It was a great moment for both of us.  Just a simple pencil drawing, but well loved.  These moments are what keep me on track. No matter the medium, if a portrait reaches into someone's heart, it is a success.

Yes, another cat!

This is a very early work in progress (WIP) of yet another cat.  Using Thomas again.  This should be fun.  My favorite time of year is Halloween. Can you see the broom beginning to emerge? Let's see if I can pull it off. I'm working on 4-ply rag mat- less forgiving than my most recent cats, which were painted on linen mat. I have to be very careful to leave untouched surface for the brightest white.  Keeping those areas pristine is difficult when creating large areas of dark. I use the scoring method, which also has draw backs (oo a pun,  Get it?).  I tried using a liquid mask once, but it was a total bust. Enjoy and be sure to check in from time to time.