Best in Show at "The Cat Show" art exhibit

"The Cat Show" exhibit at Pinnell Gallery in Fallbrook, California opened today, June 6, 2015.

During the artists' reception, my painting, "Shades of Blue", was awarded Best in Show. So exciting!

Thank you to the Pinnell Gallery and the judges for this honor.   After the reception, we came home and hugged my little model, kitty Cash.

Originally, there were three paintings ready for the show.   One of the three paintings, "Come Fly with Me", sold before the show.   Three paintings had been committed to the show so I had to scramble and create a new painting to take the place of the one that sold.  

I had a number of reference photos of my bluepoint Siamese cat, Cash, from a few years ago.   No painting is ever rushed, so I took my time with this third painting - which is titled, "Shades of Blue."  This painting was one that really drew me in while it was being painted and I had to make myself stop when it was completed.  Sometimes I keep fiddling when that is no longer

necessary.  It is almost like a great book, one hates to get to the end because then the story is over.   That is what happened with this painting.   I could have kept painting!

Some things are just meant to be.

Thank you again to the gallery and judges.

This is Silver Spots.  He is a "Savanah" cat.  If you've not heard of a Savanah - take a moment and google it.   They are amazing cats - and HUGE cats.   I've known Silver Spots since he was a baby and was thrilled when his owners asked me to paint him.

For the photo shoot, we took about 150 photos.  He is such a poser and in the end, his owners couldn't decide which photo was best to use as the primary pose.   They gave that job to me.   Talk about pressure!!!   He is such a regal cat that I decided to paint him in an old style feeling.  I wanted to capture as the old Masters did their subjects.   To do so the background needed to be very dark and rich so the lighter colors of his fur and eyes would pop.   The chose to have a dark frame to enhance the effect of the painting.

The end result was exactly what I'd planned and hoped.  When you look at the painting, the background draws you into the subject and your eyes rest there.

Tuxedo Kittens in Oil

This larger than life painting of two tuxedo kittens was done in oil. It is another piece for the corporate commission that I am working on.

The painting is three feet wide by two feet tall. A number of photos of the two kittens were supplied by the collector. One kitten has a narrower face as in a Siamese and the other kitten has a round face. The markings are very close so I relied on the face shape to assist me in keeping track of which kitten was in each photo. Ultimately, I chose two poses that were from two different photos.

My initial sketch was in pencil. If you notice the eyes on the sketch and look at the final painting - there was some adjustment done to the eye shape during the painting process. I sometimes flip my paintings upside down during the process to double check details. It was during one of these "upside down" times that I noticed the eye shape was not what I wanted it to be. One nice thing about painting in oil is the ability to change just about anything during the course of the painting. Pastels are not quite so user friendly!

Thanks for taking a peek at the kittens!

It was a lot of fun to paint.

Abyssinian Cat Portrait

The portrait of Cinder is complete! He is 12 years old and was a joy to meet. He tried to be really brave with the camera when I was taking photos of him.

It is always so heart warming to paint some one's special pet for them. I hope this painting gives many years of enjoyment to Cinder's family.