Saturday, March 14, 2009

Cat painting #6 in progress


Finally getting going on painting #6 in my series of 365 Cat Paintings. I had a little issue with my support. I was using watercolor canvas boards...which worked wonderful with the oil pastels. When I went to Hobby Lobby to pick up more of the 8x10" size, I discovered they are no longer carrying the Fredrix Watercolor Canvas! Go figure. As soon as I get started using something, they stop carrying it. (Yes, I fussed at them about it.) I tried regular canvas boards, but they are way too rough and I cannot get the detail I want for my portraits, especially in this 8x10" size.

So, after returning the regular canvas boards and inspecting all the other supplies, I finally decided on having mat board cut to my specifications. Mat board is something I know they'll always have in stock. Problem solved! Not to mention, the oil pastels actually perform better on the mat board due to the smoother surface. And an added benefit is mat board can be framed in virtually ANY frame, while canvas boards are too thick for regular frames and have to be framed in open back (i.e. much more expensive) frames. The mat board can be framed in regular *and* open back frames...so buyers of my paintings will have a variety of frame options for any budget!

This is painting #6, in progress. I'm working from an absolutely horrible snapshot taken of Nikko after she got doused in the rain. We'd brought her in to dry her off and after rolling in the towel, she started playing with her tail. It's an extremely cute pose, but the original photo stinks, so I'm hoping to do the scene justice in my painting. :)

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