Tag Archives: cat

Sunday Go To Meeting Clothes

"Sunday Go To Meeting Clothes", a casein painting of two children and a cat by Kathi Peters. Copyright the artist 2008, all rights reserved.

This painting is done. It has ended up being a casein…..sized at 12 x 9″ on illustration board. I am calling it “Sunday Go To Meeting Clothes” I know my mother used to hide under their library table in an attempt to not have to get dressed up.This outfit would not have been one of her favourites.Like mother ..like daughter. I left some of the ink lines in the work….
I really like the angle of this piece, the ladies on the porch and the cat wandering through the picture too. all added up to an interesting composition.
Now it the weather would just break and allow me to get back into some papercuts, that would really make me happy!!

©Copyright 2008 by Kathi Peters. See original post here.
To learn more about this artist, visit Kathi Peters’s website.

Curses! Foiled Again!!

Photograph of a cat copyright Karen Baker Thumm, all rights reserved.
Felled by a few grains of pollen! Or was it a few mold spores?

I have severe allergies, and despite allergy medications and shots, periodically I get sick. It’s like having the flu; aching all over, lack of energy, sinus headache, scratchy eyes and throat. Oddly enough, I rarely get all stuffed up like most allergy sufferers which might explain why it took 12 years and 5 doctors to correctly diagnose my problems. Some thought I was just depressed and needed to go on anti-depressants, but fortunately I refused.

But, I digress. Last week while madly digging away in the dirt getting my perennials planted, I noticed my energy waning away each day to the point that by Thursday I had none. The consequences of this are that I missed going to Horse Shows By The Bay on Friday and missed the first-ever polo game in NW Michigan! Needless to say, I was disappointed and moped around all evening while the match was going on. But, the news reported that there are plans to make the polo match an annual event, and HSBB will be back again next year. By then, the yard landscaping should be complete, and I will have more time and energy to visit the show. So, all is not lost.

In the meantime, I’ll select an image from a previous HSBB to begin a new work of art which will violate my only-three-works-in progress-at-one-time rule, but rules are made to be broken, right? Besides, Bard is close to being finished.

Since I still had a few photos left to shoot on my compact flash card, I decided to take some photos of the cats this weekend to use them up. Annie, our long-haired cat, needs to be clipped again, and her coat is at just the right length to be very photogenic right now. Normally, she grows a large mane, like a lion, and the hair on her sides grows so long that it hangs down making her look like a yak. Since she has digestive problems as it is, a long coat which makes more hairballs is very bad for her. So, I clip her a couple of times a year. Then she looks like a skinned rat for a while, and our other cat hisses at her.

Above is a photo of Annie who is camera shy and gets very self-conscious when photographed, so you have to shoot quick! Below is an interesting shot of Molly. A good title for that one is “Kitty In The Window”.

At any rate, the last of the plants and shrubs are now in the ground, and I can get back into the studio while the weather does whatever it wants outside. With only a little bit more mulch to put on a few more beds, the gardens will be in shape to handle the heat and dryness that usually comes with August weather.

Photograph of a yellow cat copyright Karen Baker Thumm, all rights reserved.

©Copyright 2008 by Karen Baker Thumm. See original post here.
To learn more about this artist, visit Karen Baker Thumm’s website.

Commissions List.

Painting of two dogs copyright Kathy Lewis. All rights reserved.
Portrait painting of a Ragdoll cat copyright Kathy Lewis. All rights reserved.
My commissions list is going crazy! I have had lots of requests and am working extra hard at the moment, especially as the children have now broken up from school!

My commissions now include dogs, horses and cats. I will also accept commissions for other animals, but these are the most popular.

Here are some of the most recent and also some cat pics that I have for sale, produced to advertise that I am now taking commissions for cats.

©Copyright 2008 by Kathy Lewis. See original post here.
To learn more about this artist, visit Kathy Lewis’s website.

The Judge Day 8–reworked layout

here is the reworked to the grid painting…I will look at this for awhile (not too long because I am running out of time before my move) and decide if this will work out.

©Copyright 2008 by Christine Collier-Trevino. See original post here.
To learn more about this artist, visit Christine Collier-Trevino’s website.

The Judge Day 7–reworked layout

Painting in progress of a cat and a horse in Hawaii. Copyright Christine Collier-Trevino.

I will not surrender! So today I sat with PS and reworked my compostion using the rules that Michelle Grant offered to me. Once I am satisfied, I will start painting over again.
The picture has lots of artifacts in it from the layers in PS, so just ignore those.
I hope that I am understandiing the motivations that she discussed. I made the foreground large, the background medium, and the middle ground small. I divided the area into the 1/3rds grid and moved important elements around to the intersections.

©Copyright 2008 by Christine Collier-Trevino. See original post here.
To learn more about this artist, visit Christine Collier-Trevino’s website.

The Judge Day 7–Verdict

I asked an artist, whom I greatly admire, to help me figure out why this piece kept bothering me.
Michelle Grant ( http://michellegrant.ca Canadian–which I don’t hold against her ;)…) showed me how the layout was weak, but then gave me two great planning tools that I can use not just to ‘fix’ this piece, but carry forward to future pieces.
the pictures here show my piece grided with the 1/3rds composition rule and how the key elements don’t line up with any of the intersections. The second image shows my piece cropped so that the key elements hit right on the intersections.
In addition, when planning a piece Michelle states, :The motive involves the division of space beyond the 1/3 rules. You decide which part of the space is going to be largest, and then the smallest, and then one will be the middle size. Here is a grid to hopefully clarify this theory.COLUMN #1 BACKGROUND MIDDLE GROUND FOREGROUND COLUMN #2SMALLMEDIUMLARGEYou take an element from Column #1, starting with your “BACKGROUND” for instance. You then decide which size it will be by choosing one of the sizes from Column #2. The Background could be Small, Medium or Large, but for clarity sake, I’ll say the Backgroung will be Small.Then you decide on your Middle Ground, with a choice of Medium or Large, and I will say the I want it to be Medium in size. That now leaves the Foreground to be Large in size in relation to the other areas of the painting. The easiest way to decide this is to write out the Six Elements on a piece of paper into the two columns and draw a line across from Column #1 to Column #2, and none of the Grounds will be the same in size…”
Which makes sense…..so anyway, I am not going to crop this piece down because eliminating the top and the right elements does not appeal to me. But I will re-do this idea and lay it down right before putting any paint on it.

©Copyright 2008 by Christine Collier-Trevino. See original post here.
To learn more about this artist, visit Christine Collier-Trevino’s website.

The Judge Day 6–stoopid tree!

Painting in progress of a cat and dressage horse rider. Copyright Christine Collier-Trevino.

I think I am just going to take that damn tree out of there!

©Copyright 2008 by Christine Collier-Trevino. See original post here.
To learn more about this artist, visit Christine Collier-Trevino’s website.

The Judge - Day 6

I did throw some paint at it last night and I think the reason that the palm shadows bother me is because they don’t match the mountain shadow—doh!
So I will change the palm shadows, much easier!
Have to work more form and shadows into the plants under the cat, too.

©Copyright 2008 by Christine Collier-Trevino. See original post here.
To learn more about this artist, visit Christine Collier-Trevino’s website.

The Judge - day 5 - thinking

well, I moved on to another painting that has been sitting for awhile so that I could think about this one. I need to put some warm reflective lighting on the shadow side of the cat, it is too jarring the way it is.other than that, I am not sure what else to do right now…..model the cat some more….put in the fence (but that is a last thing)…
hmm hmm hmm
the middle ground is blah, need to make it look like ground and grass and sand
the palm shadows bother me a bit, but that may just be from the blandness of the ground
need to work on that tree some more, the branches are still not right
ugh….have I mentioned that I don’t like doing landscapes? but! this piece is for me, it is a memory piece of my wonderful time here in Hawaii, so I will persevere!

©Copyright 2008 by Christine Collier-Trevino. See original post here.
To learn more about this artist, visit Christine Collier-Trevino’s website.

The Judge—day 5

"The Judge" a watercolor painting in progress of a horse and cat. Copyright Christine Collier Trevino.

I worked on this yesterday alittle but it was so hot that I couldn’t stand it. Sweat was dripping off my face, I was sticking to the panel, so I gave up.
this morning I got up early and started on it.
When I first look at it I think, oh there isn’t that much to do, but as I work I find more and more corrections to do.
But I have not started hating it yet, so that is a good thing!

©Copyright 2008 by Christine Collier-Trevino. See original post here.
To learn more about this artist, visit Christine Collier-Trevino’s website.

thinking about the colors

I need to tone that barn down so I have been thinking about it and consulting my great little color mixing book, The Watercolor Painters Pocket Palette, by Moira Clinch.
I think that a glaze with yellow ochre will give it the temperature that I need. Then burnt umber glaze for the shadowy sections of the siding.
The palms are coming in nicely but the umbrella shaped tree (not sure what it is exactly…I will look it up in Google) is too one dimensional. I need some sky holes in it and more shadows. The branches need to go back away from the front plane of the tree too. everything is all on one plane.
The riding arena has a good start, and it looks just like it feels when you are out there: hot!
I noticed that subconsciously I have made the painting in two halves of bright light and subdued light. I will have to think about this development and decide if I need to change it or let it stay that way. I think since the painting is very horizontally banded, that my intuition took over and did that to balance it.
I will leave the cat really until last because otherwise it will distract me from the environment that shapes it/him/her.
I am also going to leave the fence along the long backside of the arena for last because I will put it in and then not disturb it.
So this is really how I work; lots and lots of thinking, some actual painting, more thinking,…
kind of boring, huh?

©Copyright 2008 by Christine Collier-Trevino. See original post here.
To learn more about this artist, visit Christine Collier-Trevino’s website.

today’s work on the judge

I am happy with what got done today. I am taking a break and then going back to it.
I find that I work the whole panel at once with this piece. As opposed to the panel that I did for Le Cadeau du Cheval, I worked in sections.
I think that as I get more paint onto the surface that I will probably do it sectionally. Right now, I am trying to keep the whole united in temperature and color range.
Dropping in the first indications of shadows makes a big impact.
I am also happier with this cat’s body shape than I had previously.
I have to flog myself to work on the foliage under the cat. It just is such a chore. I am happy with how the background is falling into place.
As always, this artwork is copyrighted to the artist only. NO COPYS.

©Copyright 2008 by Christine Collier-Trevino. See original post here.
To learn more about this artist, visit Christine Collier-Trevino’s website.

Distracted from the Judge

<WARNING: WHINING ABOUT TO BEGIN IN ….5…..4….3….2….1….
bleah it has been so hot and still, I just could not sit by the window and paint. the last time I tried my arm kept sticking to things……my knee has been bothering me and it really hurts to sit or be otherthan horizontal for any length of time….I am getting ready to move again and that planning has distracted me…..I had to organize a dressage clinic…..I had to ride…..I am at a phase where I am afraid of “ruining” the painting because it is soooo darn precious…….END OF WHINING>>>

So the main thing is that I need to just lay some paint down. You would think that at this stage of my life that big fear block would have gone away. Nope, it doesn’t. And it is a factor that seems to affect most artists that I know (well, some I only know from online comm, but all the same). The really successful artists are the ones who soldier through with the confident knowledge that they will produce good artwork no matter what.
My hero, Bob Clark, has a routine that he follows and it gets him down to work quickly and focused like a laser beam. You can see his work at www.robertclark.com
So heigh-ho, heigh-ho back to work I need to go!

oh, ps–this arts & crafts, craftsman style of painting is not written about much. I went to the bookstore and online to try and find source materials but in the end only found one book (magnificent, beautiful, $50, walk away-walk away) that was worth having. I will buy it after I am moved and settled. So now I am thinking; hmmmm maybe I should put a book together! Now there is an audacious idea! One for my retirement days I think!

©Copyright 2008 by Christine Collier-Trevino. See original post here.
To learn more about this artist, visit Christine Collier-Trevino’s website.

Sketches from Live Pets! :-)

Julie Chapman recently posted a couple of sketches of her dog on her blog (no, we won’t go there). A series of comments followed about the value of drawing.

You can read my comments here: http://julietchapman.com/blog/?p=59#comments . They’re #5 of 6. She just finished doing her summer animal drawing workshop outside of Kalispell, Montana at the Triple D Game Ranch. I attended a few years ago and found it very worthwhile.

So, she challenged the readers of her blog to get out the charcoal and draw along. I accepted.  It took a few more days than I’d hoped, but here’s the best of what I came up with over about an hour this morning. One challenge was drawing kittens that are black and fluffy. A little hard to see the structure. I also found that they would get up and come running to the front of the crate every time they saw me watching them. The trick is to ignore all that and go for the gesture. These took maybe 15 seconds.

Then I went into the house and there was Persephone, aka The Princess, taking her morning princess nap on the bed. She then sat up and I got a quick start on a head study. Didn’t get all the stripes in, though.

Finally, next to the window on the floor, Niki the collie was zonked out. This one is mostly coat (he’s got a big one!), but the curves were nice.

I used a 4B Wolff’s Carbon pencil for all the sketches and a Canson Universal Recycled Sketchbook. The paper has a good amount of tooth for the pencil.

ART THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

Today’s thought is from Edgar Payne’s seminal book, Composition of Outdoor Painting, which every artist who paints outdoors or anywhere else, for that matter, should have. It’s expensive and might be hard to find, but it is as good a presentation of the traditional craft of oil painting as you will find.

“While talent or genius must exist, at best they are merely embryonic factors and no one can guide these into productive artistry without the initiative, perseverance and determination of the student. To say that the artist is born and not made, is only partly true. Actually, while it is an important qualification, there is no proof of real worth in talent until it has been developed and expanded by a tremendous amount of serious study and hard work.” (Bold added by me)

©Copyright 2008 by Susan Fox. See original post here.
To learn more about this artist, visit Susan Fox’s website.

modification of the Judge composition

Painting of a cat overseeing a dressage session by Christine Collier-Trevino

Once I decided to use the arts & crafts technique, I had to analyze my composition with that in mind. So, since one of the reasons behind doing this style is that I am living here in Hawaii, I decided to put a building into the piece.
Here is a mockup of the modified composition. I am pretty excited with it and will get up early in the morning to start laying it down on the panel.
This image is copyrighted to the artist. NO COPY NO

©Copyright 2008 by Christine Collier-Trevino. See original post here.
To learn more about this artist, visit Christine Collier-Trevino’s website.

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