
A recent effort! Jabba the Cat was done as a class project, for an oil painting student I’m currently teaching. We wanted to tackle the many different values and colors in a white animal–where are the values (lights and darks) the lightest? How light? How dark? And also, what temperature (cool or warm color) is in the cat’s fur? It was a lot of fun and there was much to discuss and explore. Ashley (my student) did a wonderful job on her cat painting!
We called the kitty Jabba the Cat because of the way she’s just sort of a feline puddle of fluffiness.
On to other news, last weekend I attended a figure painting workshop run by Adam Clague. I’m a big Clague fangirl, as he’s helped me immeasurably in my painting during previous classes and workshops.
The workshop was three days long, and we were instructed on the basics of successful painting: 1) Drawing (the most important for starters!), 2) Value (light and dark), 3) Edges (soft and sharp borders), 4) Temperature (warm or cool color?), and lastly, 5) color (what color do you see? How to mix it)?

Adam’s a wonderful teacher, very accessible and generous, and all the students were so appreciative of his talents and teaching. We students ranged in age from 16 to (I’m not sure, 70?). We all had so much fun and learned a lot.

Here’s one of the paintings that I did during the workshop. It’s not done yet, and the photo is merely a crummy cell phone picture. There are a few spots where Adam touched up the painting (adding some color choices that I liked!). He gave me some advice on “pushing” my color, much to my delight! That’s what I want!
It was a successful workshop and I’m so glad I was able to attend!