Little fluffy kitten, how could I resist painting you? You are beyond adorable!
With this painting, I went with quick and loose brush strokes and overall rendering. Not sure how I feel about it. Parts of it I do like, and it certainly was fun to paint!
Part of the fun was the lead-primed panel I painted on. (Before you get worried, the lead paint is inert and harmless on the panel, as long as you don’t start chewing on it!) I primed a bunch of little panels almost a year ago with some Foundation White from Michael Harding. I tinted the paint with a bit of blue, and painted on the panels with thick, swirly brush strokes. It took forever for the priming to dry, and it got all over the panel (some smudges on the back too). It’s almost a year later and I’m glad I waited that long to start painting on these panels. The priming is thoroughly dry and ready to go!
It is truly a wonder to paint on lead priming. The paint slicks on so nicely and smoothly, there’s nothing like it. It is a bit worrying to have to deal with the lead itself, but if you wear gloves and are careful during the whole process, it’s not too dodgy of an experience.
I used some Rosemary brushes (another favorite art materials brand) for the painting, in particular a nice sable bright that was just a “little” too big (or so it seemed) for the size of the painting. That’s something that a teacher has advised doing—choosing brushes that feel a little too big, but painting with them anyway. You get a looser, more spontaneous feel that way. That proved to be true when I painted this kitty. I loved the feel of that “too big” brush!
Well, enough of the painting geekiness. On to the next painting, as I always say!
