Cat Portraits – Leanne Wildermuth : Artist by Nature

Custom Cat Portrait : Salem’s Shadow

Leanne — Mon, 20 Sep 2010 18:58:38 +0000

Update 9/22: Revised & replaced Salem’s portrait with the updated scan

I’ve just completed another piece of artwork, this is Salem’s Shadow. I’ve done his portrait in graphite on an 8×10 size sheet (I use Canson acid-free drawing papers) using the very same brand of pencils that I used in my high school art class. (I’m a creature of habit, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!)

Salem is a black cat, and I’ve drawn him lying on a really pretty Celtic rug, his favorite. I combined a couple of photos to create this pose.

Enjoy!

Custom Cat Portrait : Moggie’s Final Image

Leanne — Wed, 15 Sep 2010 18:27:43 +0000

Custom Portrait of Moggie
8″ x 10″ Oil Painting on Linen Canvas Hardboard
©2010 Leanne Wildermuth
All Rights Reserved

Here’s the final image of Moggie’s fourth portrait, this one is an 8×10 oil painting. Her previous portraits were all in graphite (See Moggie #1, #2, #3) so painting her in oils was a real treat!

My schedule is filling up SO fast, at this rate I will be busy until at least the end of November. I have 11 projects in queue now – quite a variety! I’ll be working on a few custom graphite portraits, at least one in oils, a few blog designs and a couple of photo album designs. I am very excited and blessed to have great clients who keep me creative in so many ways.

I’ll update again very soon with more new work!

Moggie – Cat Portrait Completed

Leanne — Thu, 09 Sep 2010 19:23:11 +0000

I’ve completed Moggie’s portrait! Her whiskers, and suitcase have all been revisited with a couple more layers with very fine brushes and I think she’s just stunning. I am pleased as punch with how she turned out!

Things have definitely picked up around my house so the past few days have been busy busy busy, go go go – and I have not had the chance to get her portrait uploaded here for you to see. I’ve sent the photo to my client for review and approval as well so I’ll be varnishing and scanning and shipping the beginning of next week.

Thanks for popping in for a visit! I’ll post the scan next week some time and hope to find a few moments in the next few days to catch you up on all the other day to day things I’ve been up to. See you soon!

Moggie – Cat Portrait WIP #3 & 4

Leanne — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 21:16:55 +0000

I’ve got a couple more progress shots for you of Moggie’s portrait! The top photo shows how I began working in her stripes first and what the portrait looked like when I began filling in her coat. I thought it was a neat comparison shot to the final under painting beneath, so you can get a better idea how I work through a portrait.

The first thing I work in is the background and foreground, if there is one, and then I paint in the facial features – eyes, nose & ears – then stripes and solids. The only part of the painting that is completely finished at this stage is the gorgeous mustard background. I’ll paint in each hair on her coat again individually – under painting it like this just covers the canvas in the darkest color so I can start laying actual fur over the top.

I might not finish this piece until next week. I don’t use black, since it’s not a natural color found in nature. What appears to be black in my paintings never is – it is a combination of indigo and other dark values found in the painting. For example, Moggie’s “black” is indigo and raw umber, with a touch of burnt umber and yellow ochre where the light is bouncing off of her coat. Indigo seems to be the once color that takes the absolute longest to dry, even when using a medium to speed drying time! Neat little tidbit for you artists who are following along! I quit using black a long, long time ago – doing it this way makes the color so much more real, and rich.

Moggie and I will see you again soon!

Moggie – Cat Portrait WIP #2

Leanne — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 17:14:17 +0000

Both of my girls are back to school and that means I’m back at the easel! I’ve kicked off my week with Moggie’s portrait, working in the background and the under painting of the blue suitcase that Moggie is lying on in this portrait. This is an 8×10 oil painting on a linen panel, in case you’re wondering! I’ll be finishing this painting by the end of the week, so stay tuned for those updates.

I’ll also be working on another cat portrait, that one is a graphite drawing – as well as a few site designs and updates for clients, so I’m diving right in!

Moggie – Cat Portrait in Oil WIP #1

Leanne — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 16:30:46 +0000

Summer is coming to an end and the kids are getting ready to go back to school. I’ve cleaned and organized the studio so that I can paint/draw and photograph more efficiently, and now it’s time for me to get back to work!

It’s always tough to work on projects through the summer months with the girls home – I would much rather soak up all that time with them – before I know it they’ll be gone all summer and I’ll have studio time year-round!

The kitty above is Moggie, I’ve drawn her portrait several times already but this one will be a full color oil painting. The sketch is done and I’m ready to work on the background color, which will be a nice creamy golden mustard to match her tabbiness (sitting in a blue suitcase, holding a blue NY Giants drink cozy). It’s going to be a really sweet portrait and I’m excited to get back to the easel!

Hope you’ve enjoyed your summer!

Orange Tabby Cat Portrait : Rock Complete

Leanne — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 20:11:20 +0000

Rock’s portrait is complete (pending client approval). What a day, what a week! I’ve been painting my fingers off, whiskers and fur flying from my paintbrushes faster than they have in a long time. I did take a lot of photos as I painted today to kindof share a little tutorial about how I layer the fur. I’ll try to put that together for you next week.

I’ll post the final scan once it’s dry. Have a great weekend – I hope your weather is great and the sun is shining wherever you are!!

Angel Cat Portrait : Cuddles

Leanne — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 18:00:44 +0000

I am so excited to share Cuddles’ completed portrait, I think this one is my new personal favorite! The feathering and dimension in her portrait combined with that beautiful background gradient, definitely makes me proud to sign my name to it.

I’ve worked quite extensively on this piece the last couple of days, sang a lot of songs, uncrossed my eyes several times, and even forgot to eat.

Here’s the previous progress shot:

My client wanted her beloved kitty to watch over her now that she’s passed over the rainbow bridge, and I am so honored to be able to provide her with a visual reminder of her lifelong furry friend.

Enjoy!!

If you’d like to order a custom portrait and want to have a look at my pricing,
you can do that right here in my shop!

Orange Tabby Cat Portrait : Rock WIP #3

Leanne — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 17:16:20 +0000

I’ve completed the under painting on Rock’s portrait. I’m using two reference photos – the left is obviously the pose for the portrait, the right photo for coat and eye color accuracy.

I’ve used a palette of burnt umber, burnt sienna, indigo, cadmium orange for the darkest hues in his coat. (You can see my normal palette colors up above the reference photos, too!) I used mid tones for the primary coat shadow and lighter tones for the eye area. You can see the previous progress here.

Once this under painting is dry, I’ll start applying fur one stroke at a time, building those layers from dark to light over the top of these dark colors to give it dimension and life.

Stay tuned, this portrait will be back on my easel tomorrow for the final painting session!