If you've been following my posts, you'll remember my recent discovery of waterbased oils... LOVE THEM. I received a starter set from my friend T for Christmas last year. I went online and did a little reading about waterbased oils and got some mixed reviews. One was often repeated that they just "weren't the real thing." Well, that maybe true, but considering that I haven't painted with oils in about 20 years, it's like I don't know if I'm missing anything.

If you've purchased paints before in a starter set, you know that you usually have the basic colors; red, blue & yellow. You'll get white, maybe black. And if it's a lil more extended, a green or another shade of yellow or blue or red. If you've ever taken any sort of color theory class, you know that all colors are created using your primaries of red, yellow and blue. Here's the thing, you can spend hours and tons of paint trying to mix that perfect brown. And that's what I was doing with the starter set. Here I am mixing and mixing and I'd get it and then to create more quantity (because I had a big space to fill) add more and boom! that perfect brown is gone. Again. Well, I wasn't ready to buy more paint, Lord knows I have enough art supplies to sink a boat, so I started working on Luna's portrait with the starter set.

Luna's Portrait in Oil

first layer

16x20 inch

So I think I got as far as I could before I realized, "God, I'm using up all my blue!" and thought that I really can't get the blacks I wanted but these primaries alone. I believe I could, but again, would take forever and a day and use up most of my paint. Not to mention, I forget sometimes how slowly oil dries. I've been working with watercolor for so long. So I would start painting and try to fill in a truly darker space only to have it mash with the paint that was already on the canvas (the left side of Luna's face in the first layer was a real sticking point to me). I had to get the Burnt Umber and Sienna that I use all the time in my watercolors. I trotted off down to my local art supply store and sadly I find out that they're not selling Windsor Newton brand, but another called Echo (?) ... hmmmmm. The guy at the counter was kind enough to give me a sample of the Echo colors and placed a special order for me for the WN brand.

I went home and tried this Echo brand... eh. They're certainly not as "thick" as the WN so it was more of a wash than more saturated color. Which to me is more of a pain in the butt. Because again, these paints take a very long time to dry, so if I wanted to make my paint more saturated on the canvas, it just ended up swirling around and not sticking. I decided to wait for the WN before I continued on the Luna portrait again.

And waited and waited... ugh! I called on the following Friday to see if they were in and they weren't. Then I got a call on Monday that the orders came in but "we don't know why but yours wasn't in there." UGH! By this time I'm chomping on the bit to get crackin at the painting ESPECIALLY since it hangs out in my kitchen so I'm looking at it every day! So they were kind enough to give me 20% off for the mix up and the paints should be in this Monday... we shall see. In the mean time, I went to another art store and picked up the WN sienna & umber. I would've liked to stick with my small art supplier, but if you're not carrying the things I need what choice do I have?

Luna's Portrait in Oil

So with umber and sienna and some new smaller canvases I'm ready to take on more paintings with waterbased oil paints. Now, the real question is: who will buy them? Because I can't keep doing this and stacking up canvases in my already too small condo.

Luna Loves You!

Here Kitty Kitty

People always ask me, "So are you a cat person or a dog person?" I never really believed I was one or the other. But then when D (my beloved kitty for 16 years) passed over the rainbow bridge I was faced with a decision: dog or cat? And then I realized I am a cat person (who really likes dogs!). But yes, a cat person. I love having them on my chest as I sleep. The consistant purring and their playfulness makes up for all the litter box messes I've ever had to clean up.

Conner

watercolor & colored pencil

5x7 inches

So some of you know that I belong to the Canine Art Guild. The purpose of the CAG is to bring dog artists together to share ideas, experiences and view each others art. We have shows open to members that are posted on line about once every three months. We have had a few shows open to other species as well as one that exhibited cats only. But for the most part, it's all about the dogs. Some of the members are also a part of the Equestrian Art Guild, celebrating horses in art. So then I was thinking.... is there a Feline Art Guild? and if so, How do I become a member?

3 Kittens, 4 Bowls

watercolor & colored pencil

5x10 inches

Well, there is and it's the Society of Feline Artists http://www.felineartists.org/index.shtml and I'm sure it's a great group of artists. But as I looked further into it I found that it's based out of Great Britain. No big deal! I thought since CAG has members from all over the globe. BUT! then I looked a little more into the site and see that they have very few shows. Nothing on line, but classic brick and mortar galleries. Nothing wrong with that either except you HAVE to drop your work of in person! What? Now, mind you, it would cost a small fortune to ship a painting overseas just to have it hanging in a gallery. And I don't know anyone in GB that I could even ship it to. THEN I find you have to be an "Associate Member" for at least a year. While the cost is less that a regular member, as an Associate Member you can enter the London art show, but no guarentee that it would be hung. hmmmmm. Well, let's say I did do it, and for a year. Now I'm a full member. And now (actual quote from the site) "Full Members are expected to support the Society by taking part of the Annual London Exhibition " ???

Sally's Silly Kitties

(from L to R) Barack O'Kitty, Misty & Popeye

Now, I'm not trying to make this a bashing post about SOFA. I'm sure there a great group of people that make wonderful art and love their cats as much as I love mine. But, Ladies, really? I think your guides are a little strict and if you have a reason to be that way I would like to know why. So I'm thinking, should I start my own Feline Art Guild? Would this bring more exposure to cats? to me? to my art? I don't know.

Orange Kitten III

watercolor & colored pencil

5x7 inches

So then a couple of weeks ago, I was reading one of Elin Pendleton's post on CAG (btw, she is one of the few CAGers that I would love to meet and have critique my work. Check out her site here: http://www.elinart.com/pages/dogcat.html ) Anyway, she was saying about how most of her animal art sells because there's a connection between the owner and the dog. "And the dog owner isn't just going to simply buy a painting of a golden retriever because she likes golden's but because what golden's mean to her. Whether it be the duck hunter's helper, the child's keeper or the house guard, it's you as the artist need to find that connection and build the art around that. So paint the golden, but paint him hunting, or laying down by the cradle or on the front stoop." (I am paraphrasing but you get the idea). So that being said.... what about cats?


Below are some famous artist's pieces featuring the beloved kitty...

Picasso

Gauguin

Renoir

Beardsley



DaVinci

gig

According to her website, Gig was a big influence on A.V Vibes Kitty in her Kitty & Robot webcomic http://www.evilkid.com/comics/KR/pages/rogers.html. She used to have this great illustration of a cat's butt with "Kitty doesn't like you" on it, but, alas, she doesn't have it anymore :(

Sleepy Toon

Luna Loves You!

"KC"

Commissioned piece

Watercolor & Colored Pencil

16 x 20 inches

Bowl of Kittens


So do you appreciate your cat? Would you buy cat art if it WASN'T your cat? What do you think of cats in art anyway?

I would love to hear from you!

>^..^<

It's all in the eyes....

So the other night Jason and I watched Bambi. I haven't seen this movie up to now, and that's probably a good thing because as I child, I may have been deeply effected ... in the incorrect way. Dating a hunter and being an environmentalist and doing many field studies on the whitetail I could go on and on all the incorrect things about this movie. Not to mention the amount of destruction the Disney has done on the everglades of Florida (I'm sure the alligators and whooping cranes are tearing up just as Bambi did when his mom died) but I digress.....

I want to talk about the great thing about this movie... the animation.

Bambi was based on a an Austrian book "Bambi, A Life In the Woods". The book (which I would love to have a copy) was about a year in the life of a Roe deer. Disney changed it to a whitetail as more Americans are familiar with that kind. This film was made in 1942. 1942!!! We officially were out of the Great Depression, but I'm sure there wasn't a whole bunch running to the picture shows at that time. In fact, Bambi didn't do very well at the box office because of the financial situation of the country. But in any regards, the animation was just lovely. Look at the eyes of these characters! Just melts your heart. The eyes have it. Just compare the pictures of Bambi and Thumper above to the ones below.

Bright eyes in awe of a butterfly! Eyes squeezed shut in anticipation of a crash while the other's is rolled back, almost terror. Yes the whole facial expression is there!

Back in the days of The Art Institute of Boston, I took a class for children's book illustration. We had an assignment where you were to take a stick figure's face and try to get as many expressions as you can. Something like this (I just did this one before I started writing):

Isn't it amazing to what a few simple lines can represent? Happiness, wonder, sadness, indifference, anger, extreme anger!, awe inspiring, eerie (what the hell was that I just heard?). The third one down in the first column is the look my mom would give us when she found us still up playing and giggling at 1 in the morning. That's when I knew she was pissed! Bug eyed and angry as hell! LOL.. then leering, boredom, very happy, laughing, chewing lunch? lol. and exasperated.

So here are some portraits I have done of friends pets. Mind you, both of these animals have crossed that rainbow bridge. I may have made the eyes a little sadder because of this reason.... It's pulling on the heartstrings. My friend Cathy looked at the Reba picture and when I had said that Reba is no longer, she actually got emotional herself. It's all in the eyes.......

Reba

8x10 inch

watercolor, colored pencil

Echo's Birthday

8x10 inch

watercolor and colored pencil

Crunch Time!

Yes, it's crunch time! It's this time of year when I wish I could just take the time off from now til Christmas to get all my art and art related things in order. Alas, I can't do it, so sometimes things have to suffer:

For example (Heaving a big sigh here). The deadline to drop off my 2 artworks for the Honan Allston library show was the same as Halloween weekend. With Allston Open Studios (I had volunteered my time for media work), orders coming in, calendars going out... Not to mention my costume, which was awesome by the way..... Well, honestly I could sit here all day spewing a gazillion excuses but the fact is that I missed it. And when I went to email the contact that I would drop off my pieces the following week, well I never gave it a second thought why he didn't email me back. So I went to the library last Saturday to drop off my pieces... *buzz* no can do. You missed the deadline. I said, "But But , I emailed Michael on Wednesday that I would be here today!!" "oh" they said, "Michael's last day was yesterday" So to make a long story short, I will not be exhibiting my work there. I was so mad at myself and I think that's the worst feeling.

BUT Allston Open Studios is still going on and YES I will be there both Saturday and Sunday.



I will be located in Suite 417 at 119 Braintree Street in Allston. Plenty of parking!! Come visit me!

KC

16"x20" watercolor

Finished KC last weekend and it went into the mail today! My client says that her and her husband are already arguing as to where to hang it! I never wanted to cause any trouble :) On to the next project:

Quinn dogs

8"x10"

first layer still in the works

The photos that she supplied are great and she wanted both dogs in the same frame. I think collies, shelties and horses are challenging because of those long noses. But I will keep you updated and let you know how it goes! Back to work!!

Cat Crazy

I've been teasing myself lately looking at pictures of kitties at the local shelters. I keep telling myself to wait, but there's a cat void in my life right now.... The thing is that I feel like I'm looking for my next top model because you know there will be pictures taken and paintings made. I also was thinking that if I had to get a new cell phone for whatever reason that I'd have to get a new kitty to put his picture up on the welcome screen. Although, I'm wondering if they can take the old photos from my phone and stick it on the new one.... but then again, my phone's fine right now (knock on wood) and still has D's picture right on the screen. I'll get one soon enough....

I received an email from a woman who recently won one of my gift certificates in a fundraising auction and she's bumping up the order from a 5x7 to a 16x20 so there's some extra dough there! She sent the pics via email over the weekend and this is one senior beagle! I'm thinking that I'll take some pictures of the progress as it goes.

Somerville Art Beat 2008

This is new to me, so forgive me if I ramble and rant....

I was a vendor at the Somerville Art Beat in Davis Square this last weekend. What a great turnout for such a hot day in the city. They had a stage with live music and lots of food and lots and lots of artists. The theme this year was "Green" as in eco-friendly. I didn't see alot of Green related things, but then again, I usually do these shows by myself so I don't get beyond my booth much.

Lots and lots of dog lovers, but I must admit I was running out of cat magnets they were selling the most. Which I thought was great, being a cat owner myself. I think that there are so many things that are dog related these days but those people don't realize that there are more 5 times as many cats in households than there are dogs. So I always like to keep an array of cat images in my portfolio.

I'm in Scituate the first weekend of August and usually put out my new paintings at this show. I'm not sure if it's going to happen this year, though. Not for lack of new paintings, but the fact that I have to lug everything up to my 3rd floor apartment to flip things around, bring them back to the van only to have to lug everything up again because we're taking the van and 4 other people with us to the Radiohead show, all this in 90 degree plus humidity. So I may just wait until afterthat and exhibit the new things in September. I plan to do the Worcester StART on the street. I've heard that's a good one as well.

So I think what I'll do with this blog is set my list for the week and then come back on Mondays to let you know if they were accomplished or not! I believe by publishing them it may get my butt in gear to get things done.

So this week is to -restock the inventory I sold on Saturday - mail the gift certificates to Poppymart and the CAPS that I promised for their fundraisers - mail more business cards to Dr. Carro vet office - finish the painting of Echo in his birthday hat - and list the "3 dogs" on my website for sale. I think it would look great in a vet office or a groomers office/waiting room.. So I'll be back Monday 7/28 and let you know how I did.