FPM Finale: Cosmo is Complete!

Cosmo
5" x 5" acrylic on canvas
©Xan Blackburn 2012

Fall Portrait Marathon, Cosmo

Done.  Cosmo's portrait, and the Fall Portrait Marathon of 2011, both done.

Cosmo's portrait was based on a black and white photo, which has such power on its own that, given the option, I decided to stick with a monochromatic approach.    I did try some coloring in Photoshop, but I couldn't get happy about spots of color.  It seemed gimmicky or false.  So here he is.

Back in my comic book coloring days (yes, it was a real job!), we often were called upon to create scenes that were monochromatic.  For some reason, I found certain colors harder than others, but working on The Savage Dragon (this particular page lists me - Xan Micka at the time - as a colorist, but thinks I am a male.  Hmf!), for instance, I learned a lot about greens, or working on Spawn, I learned about a lot of red.  Ick.  I think I'd take a different approach now, but my comic book days are loooong over.  (That's a whole 'nuther story!)

What was I talking about?  Oh yeah.  Monochromatic painting.  Well, enough said.  I'll just let Cosmo do the talking.

FPM #10: Cosmo, still black and white

Cosmo - work in progress #5
5" x 5" acrylic on canvas
©Xan Blackburn 2012

Cosmo - work in progress #6
5" x 5" acrylic on canvas
©Xan Blackburn 2012

 Fall Portrait Marathon, Cosmo 


I managed to resurrect one of my tinier brushes, which sure helped with the little hair details.  I've been working on building up that fur texture, particularly on Cosmo's face, and also with continuing to develop the overall shape of him, his various roundnesses, and the soft layered shadows on his white chest and legs.  


You'll notice in the second picture here (#6) that it seems I've lost some of the hair detail.  I did!  I was washing in some general tone, and it washed OFF some of my painstaking detail work.  :P  Oh well.  That's when I broke out the glazing medium.  Once that stuff dries, it does not come off.


You can see where that took me in #7 below.


I'm quite pleased at the progress at this point.  Next phase, I'll work in some texture from the other direction: the lighter hairs and whiskers. 


Way down at the very bottom is a detail showing how the texture is evolving.  It will be fun to see it build up with the lighter hairs, too.


I'm liking the black and white so much, I'm thinking I'll be very restrained with adding any color.  I'll start with the eyes, and see how I like it just like that, then go from there, or call it done.


Happy Monday, everyone!

Cosmo - work in progress #7
5" x 5" acrylic on canvas
©Xan Blackburn 2012

Cosmo - work in progress #7 DETAIL
5" x 5" acrylic on canvas
©Xan Blackburn 2012

FPM #10: Cosmo, leeeetle update

Cosmo - work in progress
5" x 5" acrylic on canvas
©Xan Blackburn 2012

Fall Portrait Marathon, Cosmo 

One more little update for today.
You know what?  It's not as easy to "draw" with acrylic as it is to draw with a pencil, say.  Anyway, it's coming along!  We'll call this stage 2a.

Have a nice Friday night!

FPM #10: Cosmo progresses

Fall Portrait Marathon, Cosmo 

I'm going to try to remember to take more scans along the way for Cosmo's portrait, and write a bit about each stage as I go.

Cosmo - work in progress
5" x 5" acrylic on canvas
©Xan Blackburn 2012

So, with the washy start from our last look as a starting place, most of the darkest darks at least indicated, it's time to really start filling in.  As always in this portrait, the texture of the fur is going to be important at each step, though the sharpest detail will be reserved for his handsome face, to keep our attention there.

Cosmo: reference photo

My philosophy there is to avoid getting stuck in a technical distraction, where the viewer is more involved in the technique than the overall effect; Cosmo himself.  When we look at something naturally, we focus our own sharpest attention right in the center of our field of vision, with the edges getting progressively soft.  So, to take a photo, which is indiscriminate in its focus across a whole depth of field, and re-imagine it as a painting in a sense is to translate it to a more natural way of seeing, while giving the artist control over what will become the focal points, and therefore the emotional impact, of the painting.

I would love to hear from you if that kind of discussion is enlightening about my choices, or just a lot of bla-bla-bla that you sort of skim over.  It truly is the stuff going on in my head, at least at an unconscious level.  Bringing it up in words to tell someone sort of explains it to me at the same time!

Cosmo - work in progress
5" x 5" acrylic on canvas
©Xan Blackburn 2012 

Cosmo - work in progress - detail
5" x 5" acrylic on canvas
©Xan Blackburn 2012 

Anyhow, moving on to the next stage, I started with his eyes, darkening the pupils, and defining his eyeliner.  Then, I let my attention sort of wander, picking out areas that needed more generally dark tone, and then more picky hair texture.  You can see in the detail below how the balance is shaping up, in terms of soft focus/harder focus.  I've kept the texture sort of fluffy in the edge of the cat bed, and intend to keep it in soft focus, with the exception of a suggestion of its carpet-y texture at the edge nearest his face.

At this stage, the shape of Cosmo, his roundness, is starting to be more evident.  I'm pleased so far.

Now, back to it.

FPM #10: Cosmo kitty

Cosmo
all rights reserved

Fall Portrait Marathon, Cosmo 

Cosmo the cat chose his family by befriending every person, dog and cat in the house, and then just walking in the door for good one winter day.  A sweet and congenial guy, his people are still missing his gentle presence since his passing 3 years ago.

We see him here obviously in the prime of good health, evidently surveying his chosen domain, maybe looking for just the right lap, or fuzzy side, to jump down and snuggle with.  You'll also notice that this photo, while in relatively high focus, is also in black and white.  So, Cara-Lea gave me the option to play around a bit.  Add color or not.  Add it all over, or not.  Get creative with my whole approach, or stick to the tried and true.

Cosmo in color
all rights reserved

She gave me the photo on the left here for a color reference, and that eye color just demanded to be taken into account!  So, that's part of the decision.

Cosmo-color added
all rights reserved

I'm going to play it a little bit by feel, and start with a very careful monochromatic underpainting, with the assumption that at least some of it will stand on its own in the finished painting, while some areas will likely get some color.  This colored version of the photo is sort of how I'm thinking of it to start.  Maybe less color in the cat bed, or just confine it to the edge closest to Cosmo's face.

I want to be able to get that wonderful texture that stripey cats have, where the hairs follow a general flow, but interlock, and each hair is multi-colored, making a complex pattern in any tiny given area.  Whew!  As I'm working on canvas, which has texture of its own, I won't be getting every hair everywhere, but I want to have the ability to get the ones I really want, to suggest the whole.  So, as I always do, I sanded the canvas before transferring my drawing, being a little more vigorous than usual.  I wiped it with a damp cloth, applied a mid-tone gray pastel to the back of my drawing, carefully taped it in place over the canvas, and drew over it to transfer the drawing.  Once it was all there, I carefully removed the paper, and cleaned it up with a kneaded bit of Blu-Tack.  Where the wooden frame defines the edge of the canvas gets especially smudgy since it's solid where the rest of the canvas is stretchy, so special attention there.

Cosmo - work in progress
5" x 5" acrylic on canvas
©Xan Blackburn 2012

I still have my trusty Payne's gray on my pallet from Sammi's portrait, so I dilute that down, and wade in, sketching with my wet brush over the lines, trying to get the feel of the hair directions right from the start, checking against my reference photo for the inevitable vagueness inherent in the transfer method.  I went ahead and washed in some general tones as well, in the background as well as in Cosmo himself.  I like that this color separates as it settles into warmer and cooler particles, making the color very rich and interesting, like watercolor paints do.

So, this is where I'm at right now.  Stage one is always pretty interesting, and full of potential: will it turn out well?  Will it fail?  Only time and work will tell!

FPM #8: Emmet is done. Probably...

Fall Portrait Marathon, Emmet!

Emmet
Acrylic on canvas, 5" x 5"
©Xan Blackburn 2012

Well, I almost never totally leave a painting alone even after I've told you it's done, but we're at that stage with Emmet now.  I've grown very fond of his little wrinkled brow and arrow-shaped face, but we'll be saying farewell soon.
...
Case in point: I just repainted the entire background between the last sentence and this one!  Typical!

Emmet - work in progress
Acrylic on canvas, 5" x 5"
©Xan Blackburn 2012

Anyhow, when last we saw Emmet, he was sporting this look.
The color was basically in, still kind of washy, a little coarse.  The magic transformation always happens almost paradoxically by glazing whites over all.  You wouldn't think that would help to make things seem more three dimensional, but somehow it does.  In the real world, light bounces all over the place, including deep into more translucent objects, like skin or eyes, and also off the surface of those objects.  It seems like the last glazes of white give it that surface light, while still allowing the sense of things below the surface to be seen as well.

Anyhow, I love watching that little magic trick work!

Take a look at these side-by-side details to see more of what I mean.

Emmet - progress details
Acrylic on canvas, 5" x 5"
©Xan Blackburn 2012

Doesn't it look more like flesh, more dimensional on the right, after the whites have been applied?

Well, that's about it for Emmet's portrait.

Who's up next?  Let's see ....
Ah, yes!  Robin's kitty, Allen!  Allen is a tabby, with fur and all, so that will be a different kind of challenge altogether!

Thanks for looking!

FPM #8: Emmet stage 3

Emmet - work in progress
Acrylic on canvas, 5" x 5"
©Xan Blackburn 2012

 Fall Portrait Marathon, Emmet!


Emmet is really coming along nicely.  

He got another wash of diluted red, which doesn't look so weird now, but seemed very sun-burn-ish when I first looked at it.  Lots of layering of shading and color has gone on.  See the difference? 

Emmet - work in progress
Acrylic on canvas, 5" x 5"
©Xan Blackburn 2012

I'm still not thrilled with the modeling on the sweater, but it still has time to come together.  I do like how the color is building up dimension on his face.  I'm headed towards glazing in some white, which will pull it together in an amazing way.  

I'm calling it a day for now, but I wanted to share with you what Merann has to say about Emmet, after looking at the first two installments.  (She has several nicknames for him, including PoPo.)

What to say about PoPo - he has quality of life with his meds.  Never could you meet a sweeter cat who for 7 years endured such pain - that he could barely walk.  He KNOWS when I sit down - how - I don't know.  but when I do - here comes his nekkid butt running and I mean RUNNING down the stairs and leaps in my lap.  He then proceeds to head butt me - and smear my lipstick and knock my earrings out of my ears.  My little Mo.  This tiny little baby curls up in my arms at night - takes one of those poor injured paws and pats me on the cheek.  (OH great now I'm gonna cry). He drifts off to sleep and has little kitty dreams where he twitches and I sincerely hope - runs without pain.  He is my dear darling PoPoLITO - my little purrito.  He is 10 years old and I hope he is with me for a very very long time. 

We won't talk about the peeing on the bathroom carpets. hhahahahhahahaa

He's a special little guy.  The peachy feel to his naked skin makes you feel very protective of him, and his tiny toes, deformed without their final claw and joint, are incredibly touching.  Merann totally saved this little guy's life.

FPM #8: Emmet gets some color

 Fall Portrait Marathon, Emmet!

Emmet - work in progress
Acrylic on canvas, 5" x 5"
©Xan Blackburn 2012

Little Emmet still seems to be scowling, but that will be resolved right at the end.  In looking at the painting this morning, it was clear to me that the underpainting was really not done.  The darks were nowhere near dark enough: my usual timidity!  That pop that gives the final sense of reality is really in the contrasts of darkest darks and highest highlights, so you can't really be wimpy about that.

Still, I was excited to start laying in some color, so I cheated and did the first color glazes first.  I'm not recommending that, just sayin'.

I'd been thinking about how I would achieve that glowing translucence of skin with barely any pigment in it.  I decided I'd start with the way it is in reality: from the blood out.  I diluted a cadmium red hue, and washed it over all Emmet's exposed areas.  It looked VERY pink, but I know it's going to have lots of layers of "skin" on top, so I didn't worry about it.

While waiting for that pink to dry, I got out a couple blues to start on the non-Emmet areas.  I chose a cyan blue to start on his sweater, and ultramarine for the cushions around him.  The ultramarine is a blue-violet, which is cooler than the cyan, so they won't just become one big blueness with a cat head peeking out.

Once I had indulged my need for color, which really did help to define what was what, and give Emmet some life, I dutifully got out my old faithful Payne's gray to develop the shading more.  I started right in Emmet's eyes, deepening the pupils, the upper lid, and the watery shadow that casts right into the eye itself.  I spent quite some time washing in shadows on his sweater and the cushions, and pushing his elbow and tail back into the shadows a bit.  Even though the reference photo was lit more generally, I want the focus - the spotlight if you will - to be on his distinctive little face, so I'm moving the light source over to our left and up a bit, which will give me more interesting shadows to give him dimension.

I also brought that cool Payne's gray into Emmet's face, giving him some more subtle shape, with the shadow cast by his nose and the curve of his muzzle, and his eyebrow area on our right.  I also got that dilute red working again around his face, bringing more depth to the pinks around his nose and mouth, his eyes, and particularly his ears.  I think that's going well.

Emmet - work in progress (detail)
Acrylic on canvas, 5" x 5"
©Xan Blackburn 2012

Merann told me that Emmet's eyes are golden-greenish-golden, depending on the light.  Okay!  I mixed a light golden yellow with the glazing medium, and gave him that first glaze of gold to back up and light up his eyes.  When that was dry, I went back with a little of that cyan in his sweater, mixed with a touch of the yellow glazing medium to add some areas of that green, preserving areas where the light would be likely to pool from my chosen light source.

There's a lot still to do.  I'll just get back to it, shall I?

FPM #8: Emmet the nekkid Cornish Rex

Emmet sharing the love

 Fall Portrait Marathon, Emmet!

My dear friend Merann is a woman who looo-oooves her pets!  She has 3 greyhounds as well as a bunch (how many is it now?) of cats.  Her Cornish Rex, Emmet, is a special guy.  He had his claws removed in a previous home, and suffered great pain until Merann got him sorted out.  He has no fur to speak of, which reveals what most cats hide under their thick fur.  He's a study in smooth elastic skin and wrinkles, the gathers that allow him to have such expression and to move with the fluid grace of the feline kind (I'm laughing here - any other cat people rolling their eyes and thinking of their klutzy cats upending potted plants or knocking over the knick-knacks during some pell-mell race through the house?)

Anyhow, Emmet.  The photo Merann chose is not so great for my purposes: low-resolution and a bit dark.  It's hard to tell what color his eyes are, even zoomed in.  I did what I could in Photoshop, and played with the background, also removing the plaid, as I thought it competed too much with Emmet's subtlety and his own delicate patterning.  Here's what I'm using for a reference.  Don't worry about how crude it looks.  It's just for my own purposes.  I also have asked Merann to tell me the eye color.

I thought I'd throw in some wrinkles or patterning in the background behind his head to sort of echo the wrinkles on his forehead.  I'll keep them subtle.  I'm also going to give him a bit of a makeover to clean up his ears.  (Merann says that condition has cleared up, so yeay!)

I transferred my drawing to my canvas, this time using a pale gold pastel so it wouldn't be too dominant even under the paint.  For my underpainting, this time I mixed some warm burnt umber with my usual cool Payne's gray, to warm it up.  I want to accentuate his pinkish skin, so like human skin.

Emmet - work in progress
Acrylic on canvas, 5" x 5"
©Xan Blackburn 2012

He looks a bit punky or angry here, so I'll have to tone down the wrinkles between his eyes.  I'd say the underpainting is pretty much done though.  Tomorrow, the rest of the story!

FPM Painting #4: Spencer is Done!

Spencer
Acrylic on canvas, 5" x 5"
© Xan Blackburn 2011

Fall Portrait Marathon, Painting #4: Spencer


I finished Spencer's portrait the evening before Thanksgiving, but, well, you know, I got busy and didn't post about it right away.  But, hey, you were busy too, right?

Sleepy boy Spencer evolved from looking like a blonde guy with lipstick to this in the usual pattern of layers of color and detail, highlights and shadow, color washes and then some softening, to bring back that feeling of kitty fluffy fur.

Spencer - work in progress
© Xan Blackburn 2011

Let's see it in stages.  When we saw him last post, this is where we left him.  Blonde guy with lipstick.  

Spencer - work in progress
Acrylic on canvas, 5" x 5"
© Xan Blackburn 2011

The next thing I wanted to do was to layer in more color in to his colored areas, and really deepen the darks in the stripes.  I used both raw umber and Payne's gray to deepen the stripes and other darkest details, and just Payne's gray to continue to wash in more general shading, even in the white fur, and in the background. I wanted a sense of a soft warm light coming across the corner of the couch to fall on his face, and just glance off his outstretched paw.  Cat fur is so soft that it carries light through it in an almost fog-like way, creating softer shadows than you'd find on, say, a chair or a greyhound.  Shadows filled with soft light.  The area to our right of his muzzle is a good example of this.  I also corrected the shape of the ear on the left a bit, and started shading the background.

Spencer - work in progress
Acrylic on canvas, 5" x 5"
© Xan Blackburn 2011

This stage may only look subtly different, but the difference between "okay" and "That's my boy!" is often apparently minor.  I've started refining the couch fabric a bit here, but it's still fairly crude.  I've added in some higher whites on the areas I want the light to play on most; the triangular zone of his face, a touch on his shoulder, a haze on his foreleg.  In glazing in some white on his nose, I've softened it to more of a real nose than a rough red patch.  I've started adding in tiny white details, like some particular swatches of white fur under his eye on the left, and above it, as well.  I've been working on the tone of the colored fur areas, where in some places the background tone is deeper or lighter, with various glazes of raw sienna and raw umber.  Might have been some Naples in there.  

After that, I moved in with glazes of white mixed with a touch of Naples yellow, to warm up that critical triangle, and continued with detailing overall.  Below is a detail shot of Spencer's face in the finished painting, giving some idea of the overall look of the layering and detailing.  Cute little wink, Spencer!

Spencer - Detail
Acrylic on canvas, 5" x 5"
© Xan Blackburn 2011

I hope this little painting gives Lisa joy in the years to come.  It was a joy to spend a few days lost in his gentle spirit.

The next portrait in the marathon is another sleepy couch potato.  This one is a sweet-faced black greyhound girl, and the apple of her dog-mom's eye, Faye Oops.  Gotta love that name!

FPM Painting #4: Spencer gets started

Spencer-Reference photo

Fall Portrait Marathon, Painting #4: Spencer

Lisa's kitty, Spencer, in his sleepy pose, is pretty inviting, eh?  Don't you just want to snuggle your face into that soft warm fur?  Mmm.

Spencer was a Special Cat.  Lisa's friend Jan told me some of his story.

The boy loved ice cream and popcorn, and catmint.  Lisa said the only way her DH could finish a bowl of ice cream was to hold the bowl over his head away from Spence!

When Spencer arrived at our vet's office, our vet knew that Lisa's house was The Place for him, despite of, or actually because of, his medical probs and life expectancy of ~6 mos.  Two+ years later, he was one happy boy who died in his sleep on a sunny afternoon. He was probably 17 or 18 years old. Spencer was a *greyt* cat - how many cats have their own veranda?  

Lisa told me this in her introductory notes:

We quickly learned his favorite place in the world was to be stretched out on your lap, where he spent many many hours during the two years we had with him. He left us two months ago, and we miss seeing his smile as he stretched that big white paw out in front of him.

Are you misty-eyed, yet?  *sniff*

Okay, let's get to the portrait before we're all shorting out our keyboards, here.

I cropped the photo, and lightened up some areas so we'd get a little more focus on his sweet sleepy face.

Spencer DETAIL - Work in progress
©Xan Blackburn 2011

This time, I decided to prep the canvas a bit, so I could count on a little more detail by having a smoother surface.  I sanded it with a fine-grit sandpaper, and wiped it with a damp microfiber cloth.  While it was still dampish, I transferred the drawing to the canvas using a blue conte crayon.  I then used some raw umber thinned a lot with medium to trace over the whole drawing, using the tip of a small brush.  I didn't want to wash off the drawing again!

You can see how that worked in this detail.  Pretty well, actually!

Spencer - Work in progress
©Xan Blackburn 2011

That brings us to here.  Ready to get painting.

The scanner cut it off a bit, but his ear is visible just to the tip on the left.

Spencer - Work in progress
©Xan Blackburn 2011

I used some ultramarine blue to wash in the first layer of color in the couch, and set off the cool background from the warm kitty.  I did make a watery-thin excursion into Spencer, to cool the areas I intend to keep more shadowed.

Watch how the perspective on that paw reaching towards us develops.  Right now, it looks flat and odd, but shading and detail will put it in place as we go along.

Spencer - Work in progress
©Xan Blackburn 2011

Spencer - Work in progress
©Xan Blackburn 2011

Using Payne's Gray, I started in with the darks, trying to keep a sense of the fur right from the start, as opposed to washing in looser areas.  You can see that better in this detail.

Already, I'm glad I did that sanding before painting!  I want to be able to do these fine strokes, and not have them blurred by a coarse surface.

Spencer - Work in progress
©Xan Blackburn 2011

Time to hit the color.

I mixed some Naples yellow and raw sienna to get a golden brown, and added medium to get my glaze.  I brushed that in in all the colored zones of Spencer's fur to get a warm gold base.  Notice there's a bit of that warmth washed into the paw under his chin, and on the paw reaching towards us.

Suddenly I'm aware that I was too timid (my usual failing) with the darks, and will need to really bump them up, particularly in the stripes.  I started adding some raw umber (very dark brown) to those areas, and to darker areas of the fur.

You will already have noticed, I'm sure, the PINK on the mouth and nose.  Fret not.  They'll get toned towards where they belong as we go along.  The mouth will get a lot of white brushed over it, to define the little hairs all about the area, so that stronger pink will be necessary to stand out after that.

Lots still to do, but that's where we are tonight.  Stay tuned!

Fall Portrait Marathon: the simpler version

I'm getting some feedback that my first post about the marathon was maybe a bit confusing.  Let's see if I can be a little more clear.

What: I will do ten 5"x 5" portraits, acrylic on canvas, of ANY species for $80 +shipping

Why: As a benefit for Creatures Comfort, a feral cat rescue program, which will receive $20 for each portrait 

Who: The first ten people to send me an email ON MONDAY, NOV 7th, after 9:00am PST, with a clear photo of their pet

When: The painting work begins Tuesday, Nov. 8th, and you can watch it here on the blog.

How: 

1. Choose ONE photo, clear and high-res, of any ONE pet (dog, cat, hamster, ferret ...), attach it to an email.  (tip: If you have a really big photo file, but it's of the entire pet, crop it down to just the head, down to the shoulders.)
2. The email should have your name and your pet's name as the subject.  
3. Send the email to xan@xans-art.com with 
• your name and your pet's name
• any notes about your pet you want me to know, to help me choose a mood for the painting

Example:

subject: Humphrey Blackburn; Wabi  

message: Hi, Xan!
Wabi is a little thing, mischievous and cuddly. Her favorite thing to do is eat dandelions.  Attached is her photograph.  Can you put some dandelions in the painting, maybe?

Thanks,

Humphrey 

   4.  I will send you a PayPal invoice.  When the payment goes through, and I've completed the portrait before yours, I'll begin the portrait of YOUR pet!  :D  (If you'd prefer to send a paper check, we'll work it out the details together.)

_______________________________

Better?  If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask.  Maybe someone else has the same one, and we can help them, too.  :)

Decisions! Decisions!

I don't even know what project to take up!

Niccolo & MaeBella
Work in progress.  Acrylic on panel. 16" x 20"
©Xan Blackburn 2011

I've got two paintings currently in process; Fluffy, and Niccolo and MaeBella (yikes! that's colorful!)

I got stalled out on N&M two whole years ago, when I ran out of technique, and my muse took a hike.  Now, I can see not only how I got stuck, but how to proceed.  Thank goodness!!

Fluffy is moving along.  I'll show you more of him shortly.

I have a marketing deal in the works with a dog registry, but I'm not sure how much effort to put into it as they seem to be in flux, and communications are spotty.  It could mean an opening into a market I might not otherwise show up in, or ... not.  I'm still inclined to follow up on it, though.  That's why I was asking for reference images in an earlier post.  By the way, I still need references!  I'm open to any breed currently in the ICKC list, since that's the market I'm aiming at.  My idea is to do four 8" x 10" sample portraits to be carried around to the various events with my biz cards, etc., in return for which I'll take a discount on a portrait of this year's big winner to be given as the prize for winning.  So, that's four paintings I need to do just for that.  Soonish, if you please!

Then there's Dewey coming up.  Greyhounds Reach the Beach, in Dewey Beach, Delaware, has been a major focal point for the last several years, where I've sold my art in various forms.  This year, it's looking like I'll be bringing precisely not a single thing.  Unless, you know, I suddenly manage to make a bunch of art for that!  

ScrapCat: Coco
Work in progress.  Gouache on matboard.
©Xan Blackburn, 2011

Oh, and let's not forget my painting of Coco, which I didn't quite finish while at SnipFest.  I want to get that done, and get it sold, for the benefit to WeSnip!    Here's a detail shot of where I am with her as of today.

ScrapCat: Coco
Work in progress. Gouache on matboard
©Xan Blackburn, 2011

The event itself was LOTS of fun.  I didn't sell a whole lot, but I didn't really expect to, since my stuff is so specific, and there aren't a whole lot of greyhound owners just wandering around Birch Bay looking for some holiday cards!  Just the one gentleman, who did buy a print and some cards.  (Hopefully, his greyhound Becky will come visit my greys soon.)  I did draw a lot of interest from painting on the spot,
and talked to a lot of people about various types of commissions, so we'll see what comes out in the long run.  In the mean time, I got to chat with my neighbors, and listen to some great music from the stage about 50' away (my pet sitter performed!  Go Jenni!  :D)  Mostly, I wanted to show my support for WeSnip.

SnipFest, view from my booth

SnipFest, view from inside my booth over my
painting table

Well, I do have Fluffy on the table, with paint on the pallet, so I guess that's what I'm doing!  

Thanks to those of you who've already signed up for my "Commission Alert List".  If you want to know more about that, look to the right sidebar.  I know I have to get my price list up.  It's on my project list!  

SnipFest: Quick! Make some art!

SnipFest is this weekend, at which I am vending, and I had hoped to be able to bring at least a couple of new things to offer.  I set Fluffy aside, and started going through my photos of my cats for inspiration.  All 3 of my aging cats are rescues.  I'm not sure of Meep's origin, but I had seen a few cats loose in our area that look like him after I adopted him from the local Humane Society.  Coco, I was told, was one of a bucket full of kittens found on the side of the road.  Rowdy was a feral who latched onto me after he'd been neutered, had his ear clipped, and then been released back to the area he was caught - a practice I learned of when I took him in to see the vet the first time.

 I had a little photo shoot with them.  Rowdy was happy to assist.

Rowdy climbing up my body for a snuggle.
If this had sound, you could hear his Very Loud Purr.

I did get a couple good ones of him, but I'm starting with one I got of Coco (the little tabby and white cat you can see behind Rowdy).  Meepy decided not to interrupt his nap.

I decided to do some "Scrap Cats":  painting and/or drawing my leftover scrap cats on leftover scraps of mat board.  (I'll donate 50% of the selling price to WeSnip, in honor of the work they do with feral cats, and cats from low-income families.)  I chose my scraps and my references, and broke out my old faithful gouache paints.

I haven't used gouache in awhile, and I'm remembering why I love them so much, particularly for pet portraits!  They are very forgiving, endlessly re-workable and give incredible detail.  They are opaque watercolors, similar to the tempera paint used by the Wyeths, or that you used in kindergarten.  They dry to a matte finish, with intense pigments, and can be used on darker surfaces because they are opaque.  Painting on mat board is lots of fun.  Here's where I am with Coco so far.

Scrap Cat: Coco
Work in progress. Gouache on matboard.
7" x 14.5"
©Xan Blackburn, 2011

This only shows the top half or so, but there's not much to see below that yet, and I wanted to let you see how the eyes are shaping up in decent detail.  Gouache is kind of fun to use sort of like a paint-by-numbers, to start with, blocking in the major color zones, then start working in detail and gradations by just painting onto and into the blocked colors, which will mix with the new colors if you want, or just sit underneath while you stroke in dryer opaque details on top.  It's absolutely great for letting you show how all the different colors in each hair sit next to each other, and add up to an overall color, because you can actually PAINT each different hair in each of its several colors!  If you want, that is.  

Anyway, lots still to do, and now I don't expect to get any further than this one by the time I have to call it quits tonight, and get the car packed up.  Supposed to be setting up at 7 am tomorrow morning!  I'll get a final scan of it, at least so I can show you how it ends up.