Gal from Maine

Gal from Maine   watercolor/cold wax/wood cradle    11 x 14 x .75

                           

When our son's family comes to visit, they bring along their two delightful Maine Coon cats.  These felines are gentle giants...fluffy, snuggly and easy to get along with.  One of their endearing quirks is that they love to drink from bathroom sink faucets and cozy up in the bathroom sinks....lucky for us that we have two side-by-side sinks to accommodate them!

The greatest challenge in rendering animals is to get the feel of the fur without getting too detailed, as detail takes away from the coat as a whole.  These cats have a tortoise appearance, with many layers of color rolled into one.  I began with some warm washes and tried to sublimate the fur to the form of the animal.  Cooler and neutral layers were placed on top.  Initially, I started to put in the actual spigot and handles, but that was much too much detail for my liking.  They disappeared into the dark background.

I like the feel of this work.  I also like the placement of the whites, which were toned down a bit at the end.

Most of all, I love these cats!

Fox Fur

Bus Stop   watercolor   20 x 13

Drawing different textures is a wonderful way for we artists to learn about the nature of things. This time of year we have lots of wooly hats, scarves and gloves, as well as fur collars to whet our visual appetites. An artist once told me that in a college drawing class, they were asked to put piles of flour, sugar and salt on individual sheets of paper and to draw them...........wow, what a challenge! Such minute differences in weight, bulk and texture! This exercise is definitely on my "to do" list!