Siamese Cat and Butterfly

Happy Friday!

I've had a busy week finishing up this pet portrait commission of a border collie. It was one of those cute dogs with one blue and one brown eye. It turned out rather dramatic.

I also pained a Siamese Cat and butterfly. I was trying to do something a little different, a little askew with the composition. Prints are available here.

Siamese cat and butterfly (acrylic inks)

Hope you've had a fabulous week. We had lovely balmy spring weather but today it started snowing again. Oh well, it does look rather beautiful......

I also decided to post my creative workspace on instagram as part of the #meetthemaker tag - warts and all. I do TRY and keep it tidy but it always explodes into life! I do work better in chaos....I don't know why but I feel so much more creative in chaos.

Well that's my excuse anyway and I'm sticking to it.

Yes of course I can't find anything. And yes of course I frequently put my brush into my cup of tea.

Maybe I should buy these mugs as a reminder of what goes where:

Anyway it doesn't really matter. I can't kill myself as I don't use oil paints......


I share my studio with my guinea pig Marshmallow. I work to a background of squeaks and scrabbles.

What is your workspace like? Do you keep it tidy or not? Do you need chaos to function?


Linking up with Brilliant Blog Posts and Paint Party Friday
 

Just the Right Size

Hi Guys!!

That's one of the pet portrait commissions of a Great Dane I did this week.

I recently found this poem and it really resonated with me. If you create out of joy that is the main point of creating something. That is why I try not to criticize other's work.....even if I don't personally like it you have to remember it meant a lot to them. And also the way you paint is unique to YOU and I don't think you should try to paint another way just because that way is popular or commercial. Do you know what I mean?

How to Paint a Donkey 

by Naomi Shihab Nye

She said the head was too large,
the hooves too small.
I could clean my paintbrush
but I couldn’t get rid of that voice.
While they watched,
I crumpled him,
let his blue body stain my hand,
I cried when he hit the can.
She smiled. I could try again.
Maybe this is what I unfold in the dark,
deciding for the rest of my life,
that donkey was just the right size.

UPDATE: BAM is excited about his new pawtraits!

 Linking up to Caturday Art Blog Hop, Sunday Sketches and  Paint Party Friday

Hooray! It's Caturday!

I just found a fun facebook and twitter group called the Colour Collective. Every week they pick a different colour and we all create an artwork or illustration incorporating that colour. This week it was tea rose. I started thinking about whether a cat and a canary can ever be friends and decided to create this little illustration called 'Cat and Canary'?

Do you have a cat and bird who live together who are friends?

Linking up with Caturday Art Blog Hop and Sunday Sketches.

Cat and Canary Print available from Redbubble.

Black Cats and Japanese Watercolors

I was a bit stumped when I thought of creating this portrait of my friend Claire's adorable cats Pumpkin and Pieface. It is difficult to make black fur look as lustrous and lovely as it is in real life.

But then inspiration hit! The time was right to take a virgin flight with my Sumi-E Japanese watercolors. I am always looking for bright, vivid watercolors and I was so excited to find these! What is Sumi-E? I found out that "Sumi" means "black ink" and "e" means both "path" and "painting."

I also used a Japanese watercolor paper that is specifically for Sumi–e painting. This very absorbent paper is ideal for "freestyle" brush painting, a simple yet highly aesthetic drawing made of powerful, mostly chasing and rapidly executed lines.


One day I may well try Japanese painting although you need special brushes. In the meantime I just used a regular brush and put a bright background where the highlights of the cats' fur was and then when it was dry overlaid it with opaque black. My friend was delighted with it!


Have you ever tried Japanese watercolors and how did you like them? I was very pleased with their intense colors.

Linking up with Pet Parade and Paint Party Friday

Stay warm and do check out my new Fine Art America store!!