Tag: pet portrait

Animals

Big White Cat

J R Dunster2 Comments
"Big White Cat" 6x8" oil on canvas panel. Thanks to Farbenhexe of PaintMyPhoto.com for the reference photo!
“Big White Cat” 6×8″ oil on canvas panel. Thanks to Farbenhexe of PaintMyPhoto.com for the reference photo!

Words cannot express how much I loved painting this kitty! Big, proud, bodacious, this is some cat. A Mighty Fine cat. His whisker pads are something to behold. And look at the tufts of fur coming out from the tips of his ears! What a magnificent animal!

I enjoy painting white cats, or at least cats with significant acreage of white fur, because there’s so many colors to be found within. The white fur reflects the colors around the cat, and looking for the subtle shifts of color, changes from warm to cool, and attempting to capture that—it’s a lot of fun!

I used a Pintura Painting Panel for this painting. It’s touted as an archival panel, and has a very finely woven canvas. I enjoy the smoother texture for painting in this size.

Animals · paintings

Grey Kitty – 4×4″ cat head

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Grey Kitty Head, 4×4″ oil on panel. Thanks to WesternStock of DeviantArt for the stock photo used as reference.

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?

Animals · paintings

Big Green Eyes and Intense – Cat Heads

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“Big Green Eyes – Cat Head” 6×8″ oil on linen panel. Thanks to hiddenyume-stock for the photo I used as reference!
“Intense Kitty Head” 6×6″ oil on panel. Thanks to FurLined for the stock photo used as reference!

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!

Animals · paintings

Grey Kitten Head

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“Grey Kitten Head” 4×4″ oil on panel. Thanks to Catstock on DeviantArt for the use of the stock photo as reference!

I’ve missed the cat heads. Here’s a kitten head, but I fear I made this kitty a little more “mature” than the real kitten. This kitty looks like he or she is perhaps in her “teenage” years.

Cat fur is is fun to paint, but difficult. The markings, the softness, it can sometimes be tricky to capture. You’ve got to do it delicately, and with more subtle values. I enjoy the challenge and hope I’m improving in this area!

This was painted on a slightly different surface—I used Cheap Joe’s Prime Extra Fine Art Board. It’s 1/2″ thick, with a slot in the back for hanging. You can hang it as-is, or frame it as you would a regular canvas or panel. It comes unprimed, so I primed it with Winsor & Newtons “Clear Gesso” which was interesting. It is clear (though I think it’ll start to go opaque if you get it really thick) and it has quite a bit of tooth to it. I rather liked it, though.

Another kitten portrait is coming up very soon! Because if you’re familiar with this blog, you already know, I love painting the cat heads.

 

Animals · paintings

Siamese Grumpy Cat

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I’ve been picking at this painting for a few days, and I think it’s time to say, put a fork in it, it is done!

“Siamese Cat Head” 8×8″ oil on panel

Thanks to Lily-Stock of dA for the photo I used as reference. I don’t currently have a siamese kitty at home, so I had to use a stock photo as reference.

This kitty looks a bit like a Siamese version of Grumpy Cat. It wasn’t deliberate! I guess I smooshed the face in somehow, or made the kitty look extra sour, or in some other way grumpified it a bit. In any case, I still kind of like how the painting turned out.

8×8″ oil on panel. It’s on a thicker, high quality archival wood panel, primed with acrylic priming. There is no “dovetail” slot (hanging slot) in the back, so it’ll need to be framed.

I enjoyed the challenge of capturing the colors in this kitty. There was a lot of blue in the fur and highlights, as well as warm tones. I’d like to do some more paintings of siamese cats.

Animals · paintings

Portrait of a Barn Cat (Another Cat Head)

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Another of the cat heads. I’m growing so fond of painting the cat heads. I also have a Siamese Cat Head in the works, as well as a Very Fluffy Cat Head. And of course several portraits, because portraits are always fun and exciting to paint. I’ll be writing more about these in the near future.

The latest effort is the Barn Cat. This orange boy seems like he has seen many things . . . many things . . . in his rough, barn-cat life. I hope my portrait sufficiently captures the Barn Cat persona. Or maybe not? 😉

Barn Cat, 4×4″ oil on panel.

I used a stock photo as reference, and need to go through my records to track down who to credit. (I try to be always be up-front about that, as I appreciate greatly the stock photographers who allow artists to use their photos.) UPDATE: Credit goes to elusiveelegance of DeviantArt.com!

Painted on an Ampersand Artist cradled panel. It’s either got a 3/4″ or 7/8″ cradle (kind of like a “gallery wrap” canvas, but this is made with wood). There is a “canvas-like” texture to the acrylic priming on the panel surface. I kind of like this texture for painting. The panel can be framed (like you would any regular stretched canvas) or since it’s got a “gallery-wrap” type appearance, it can be hung as-is.

Enough with the art materials geekiness for now.

Animals · paintings

Some Cat Heads

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I like painting the cat heads.

B&W Cat Head, oil on panel, 4×4″

I’m a “cat person” and have been enjoying painting these series of cat heads. I had a lot of fun capturing the various whites and greys in this B&W kitty’s face. The subtle colors found in the white fur, the shadows of the fur, was a challenge that I enjoyed very much.

Thanks to azaleapoena on dA for the stock photo I used as reference!

Grey CAT HEAD, 5×5″ oil on panel.

This one looks a bit grumpy or sour. An alternate title might be “Glowering Grey Cat Head.” I enjoyed finding the various greys (warm and cool greys, dark and light greys) in the cat’s coat. Thank you to nickistock of dA for the use of the photo for reference!