Thursday, June 16, 2005

Cat in a Tree



Measures about 8"x12"
Pencil in a sketchbook
From a photo in 365 day card calendar thingy-bob

2 comments:

Kimberly Cangelosi said...

Hmmm, a challegenge! I'm on it. I'll do something from life very soon and post it for your critique.

About source material:

photos vs live
Most of my work is from photos, not other drawings or paintings. I only copy drawings or paintings when I'm trying to learn a new technique.

You don't need a photo for a still life because it sits still, hehe. But cats...they are very unpredictable!

I have some sketches at home that I did of live cats and they contain very few lines, just a basic outline, because by the time you get that done the cat has rolled over or walked off or is doing the obligatory 30 min butt washing.

making it my own
When I use a photo as a subject for a painting that I plan on selling I try to use ones that are public domain, and I always try to make it my own. Usually some creative liberties are required (the photo is poorly cropped, or the colors suck) but I try to inject my personal experienes with cats into the painting process as well.

tracing
I think you know that many of my watercolors are traced from source photos or drawings. I do this because drawing on watercolor paper ruins it and because the lines you lay down in a preliminary tracing show through under each layer of paint and help guide you throughout. This technique is not necessary or even very useful in acrylic painting because the surface is less important and the paint is opaque. I don't use it in sketching either because it would take out all the fun!

Crystal Starr said...

I agree with that funky chicken. You have such a creative and (excuse me for sounding cheesy)magical imagination. I would also love to see what you could come up with on your own.