I've been into an animal kick lately. I am enjoying the responses I've gotten from the cows and the seals. I just believe that people are drawn to faces. So for those of you who like faces, I hope you enjoy Eddie in the Chiminea. Eddie is smart enough to realize that he does not like to be wet. During one of our winter snowstorms, he discovered a nice little "shelter" inside the chiminea. Unfortunately, the chimney enabled him to sneak out the top to grab the occasional unsuspecting songbird. My daughter eventually solved that problem, by placing a soccer ball on top of the opening. Eddie hasn't quite figured out why it is so dark inside.
Eddie presented a particular challenge in that he is a striped, brown tabby. Partially due to his impeccable breeding. Eddie was born to a feral father and a trailer park mother. One of my students begged me to give him a "good home". I have read that the brown tabby is very close to natural wild cat coloring. Eddie likes to accompany us on our walks through the woods where he is almost completely invisible. His coloring blends in perfectly.
Anyway, while painting, the challenge was to try to capture this beautiful coloring, and show some texture while not losing the "form" of the animal. Another challenge was capturing the snow. I blended some pthalo blue with titanium white and applied it with a wide trowel.
The surface of the chiminea was completed with a palette knife. The kitty was painted using a combination of brushes, knives, sticks and scumbling.
7 comments:
This is an amazing painting Neetzy! You've mastered cat fur AND snow -- wow! Here kitty kitty; he looks so real.
A feral father and a trailer park mother? Hee hee, Neetzy, what a formidable combination.
I love how you've caught him. I just want to reach down there and make a fuss of him, even though with his lineage I'd probably get my arms ripped off.
Wonderful painting and great composition (as always). I love the swirl of yin and yang and the gloriously orange highlights of the terracotta.
Pthalo is such a fun word to say out loud. I put it right up there alongside isthmus.
Katie,
A little too much texture perhaps. My daughter told me that if a kitty looks too textured he is probably sick.
Dive,
I'm glad you like him. Eddie is very friendly considering his lineage. I just had fun with the painting. I don't care if it's "good" or not. I just wanted to do something "playful".
And yes, Pthalo is a fun word to say out loud!
Wow, I love this painting, Neetzy! I love the cat in the chiminea. How clever of your daughter to put a soccer ball on top to stop him from getting in mishchief! Yes, pthalo is a fun word to say, but is such a hard paint to clean out of brushes.
Thanks Janelle. Phtalo gets into everything. I try to use it sparingly but it worked for this snow. It seems that it is always the paint that gets on my skin and my clothes as well. BTW I'm painting another cat!
That is a cute story with the soccer ball. We had an older cat that liked to get on the roof and sit on top of the chimney. She kept the bats down and worried all the people who saw her. Great capture of your cat in the tube.
Thanks L.D.! Tried to capture this buy's personality! It is an outdoor Chimney. I'm not sure if I spelled Chiminea right. Spell checker says it's wrong, but then again it is Spanish!
Post a Comment