“Seated Kitten” oil on panel 8×10″ thanks to Cherry Aron of PaintMyPhoto.com for the photo ref I used as inspiration!
My latest effort, this time a full body cat painting (not just the cat head! 😉 ). Continue reading “Seated Kitten”
Seated Kitten
Author: J R Dunster
Pretty Kitty
This is such a remarkably beautiful kitty! I found the reference photo over on PaintMyPhoto and couldn’t resist painting this cat. It’s just a little painting, 5×5″ on an Ampersand Artist panel (with a slight “canvasy” texture). Continue reading “Pretty Kitty”
Quick Nude Sketch (NSFW, obviously)
I haven’t posted a figure sketch in a very long time, so tonight’s the night. I was working on a painting (agonizing, is more like it) and it’s just not going to be done tonight. So the heck with it! Here’s a figure drawing instead. Continue reading “Quick Nude Sketch (NSFW, obviously)”
Proud Orange Cat
This is my first painting using a photo ref from PaintmyPhoto.com. They’ve got some lovely photos over there of kitties! This is “Tigga,” the Grand Old Gentleman. And a mighty find old orange kitty he is indeed! Continue reading “Proud Orange Cat”
More with Water Mixable Oil Paints (mini tutorial II)
Some more experimenting with water mixable oils (WMOs).
My previous post showed a work in progress oil sketch where I used a combination of several brands of water mixables (mostly Weber wOil, with a touch or two from Talens Cobra, Lukas Berlin, and Holbein Duo Aqua). I used wOil’s Alkyd “Fast Dry” medium. Continue reading “More with Water Mixable Oil Paints (mini tutorial II)”
Mini-Tutorial: Experiments in Water Mixable Oils
Oy. My current schedule has not been conducive to painting and it’s very frustrating. But hopefully it will be back to “normal” (what qualifies as that for me!) soon.
I haven’t been able to spend much time at my studio, so I set up a very humble corner at home where I could paint. But painting with solvents (like paint thinner) was a no-go, so I thought I’d break out some water mixable oils I had, and see what I could do. I’ve done two paintings so far, neither finished, and I post the more “finished” looking of the two. It’s just a simple oil sketch of one of my made-up people (no model or photo reference). It needs more tweaking, which I’ll do as soon as it dries.
MY IMPRESSION OF WATER MIXABLE OILS:
Right now the main advantage I see with water-mixables (also known as “WMOs”) Continue reading “Mini-Tutorial: Experiments in Water Mixable Oils”
Back again, with a landscape!
I return to this blog, bearing a landscape. I don’t do many landscapes, something which I find a terrible pity, so I’m working on rectifying that, and here’s my latest effort.
Apologies for not updating the blog sooner, it’s been a hectic month—and a frustrating one—because other duties prevented me from painting as much as I’d like. I have several works half-done, but this is the first so far that’s ready to be shown. I’m determined to do more painting from now on. It’s been too long away from the studio, and that is unacceptable!
I did this painting at a recent workshop with Adam Clague, who is primarily a figurative painter but also is delving into landscapes (and doing a magnificent job!). Continue reading “Back again, with a landscape!”
Grey Kitty – 4×4″ cat head
This little grey kitty was spontaneously painted on a 4×4″ panel I had lying around. He has such clear eyes, such a sincere expression, what’s not to love?
The panel I used was primed with lead primer (don’t worry, it’s perfectly safe unless you start chewing on the edges!) which is especially wonderful to paint upon. The paint slides over the surface in a unique way that is just . . . so sublime. The primer I used was Holbein’s “Foundation” oil color, I believe the umber-tinted one. I love Holbein’s foundation line, which includes a white, a grey, a sage green, and a beige (tinted with umber).
I like painting on small panels sometimes because less is more, and usually it can be done (or almost done, in this case) in one sitting! It gives you a feeling of accomplishment to do a new painting almost every day, right?
Cat in the Grass, oil on panel
This painting has been simmering on the backburner for about a month. I set it aside after doing the first stage, worked on some other paintings for a while, and finally decided to complete it.
The green background (grass and foliage) gave a green cast to the cat’s fur. Quite a challenge! Without the background color of grass green, the colors bouncing off the kitty would not make any sense! This is a beautiful tortoiseshell/calico kitty with clear, green eyes that reflect the green of the background.
This painting was the one that caused the damage to The Brush. I have a favorite paintbrush, entitled “The Brush” because it is THE go-to brush that I grab often during my painting. It was so loved, so relied on, so adored, that its beautiful handle snapped off in my hand as I was working on “Cat in the Grass.” There’s still enough of a handle left so I can continue to use it, but it’s also starting to show wear elsewhere. (I guess I am hard on The Brush. I do wash my brushes religiously, but I guess something about how I use The Brush is contributing to its gradual demise.)
The Brush is probably just a simple sable Bright (size 6) but I have bonded with this specific, particular brand of brush, so I’m afraid to deviate to any other type, because maybe it’s not quite like The Brush. My source for The Brush is The Italian Art store, their own label (which I’m sure is actually made by some other brush maker and stamped with The Italian Art Store’s name). So since I am hard on The Brush, I must order duplicate The Brushes, so I am never without a supply!
Big Green Eyes and Intense – Cat Heads
I’m doubling up on the cat heads for this post. Lots of cat head painting going on. I’ve been enjoying it very much!
While it might not be evident by looking at the paintings, I was trying a looser hand with both of these pieces. I often used a bigger brush through most of the painting process. One of my teachers, Adam Clague, imparts the wisdom to use a paintbrush that “seems too large,” because that’s just the right size. I think he’s on to something! 😉
Though I did get into the details a lot too (which I don’t think is necessarily bad) I think that “less is more” and I don’t want to paint every little molecule of detail. Some artists do that exceedingly well and beautifully, but it just isn’t the direction I’m heading in.
I also enjoyed capturing the various colors observed in these kitty heads. Who knew that a simple white ruff on a cat’s chest could contain so much color? It truly is amazing. I do so love painting these kitties!