I’ve begun a new cat portrait! This is Kona, an orange tabby. My client chose the background color, which I think is really going to set off her beautiful coat color, and also go well with the other portraits I’ve already completed once they’re hung together in an arrangement! (Elsie, Badger, Jambalaya and now Kona. Taysia Blue, another husky in the family, will have her portrait done eventually, as well.)

I’ve used a mixture of both Sap and Olive green for this background color, lightening it up a bit using Naples Yellow Light, which is a very beautiful creamy color that warms the greens around her face.

I’ll be working on her underpainting today, so look for that over the next day or two.

Caesar’s portrait is complete, pending client proofing. You may notice I’ve changed the collar from blue to red – a last minute tweaking that makes him even a little more bold against the canvas.

Enjoy!

Here’s Caesar’s underpainting. If you’re curious, I don’t use any black in my paintings at all. I haven’t in quite some time. Since there is no “black” in nature, my black consists of various combinations of indigo with raw umber, sap green and/or magenta. I think this produces a much more natural portrait with true earth tones.

You can see that my reference photos aren’t really “perfect”, but I wanted you to see that sometimes, if it’s all you have, it can still work. A few photos that show me personality, coat length and color and a bit of eye color, and I can usually fill in the rest. I know how important it is that the end result replace those photos with a clear, lifelike memory of a pet.

That said, I’ve got Caesar speed drying and I’m going to try to finish his portrait tomorrow afternoon.

I’ve finished the background on Caesar’s portrait. The sides of the piece are a bit darker and makes a nice border frame on the wrapped canvas. I’ll work in the underpainting when this is dry (hopefully tomorrow afternoon).

I finished up Tucker’s second portrait today, the 5×7. I’ve got a photo of both of the paintings side by side so you can see them both completed.

I’ve just completed Tucker’s 8×10 portrait, so the painting is still wet and pending any minor tweaking. I’ve taken a photo of the finished piece beside the underpainting of his 5×7 portrait so you can see the difference between the underpainting and completed piece. Quite a change, huh?

Tucker’s neckerchiefs are pretty much complete (tiny details will be enhanced in the last session). The next step after this area has dried is to get that final coat done. I’ll enhance/deepen the eyes and nose and then start applying his top coat of fur. His Golden Retriever locks will curl over the top of his neckerchief and give his portrait that dimensionality that he’s lacking right now.

Indigo takes longer to dry than any other color – so I’ve got them under a fan to try to speed things along.