Cat on Ampersand Pastelbord

This is one of our friends Norwegian Forest Cats.

I took the photograph a couple of years ago and have been meaning to paint him ever since.

I'm using the sand coloured Ampersand Pastelbord, 11 x 14.

The background has an underlayer of Caran D'Ache Neocolor ll, it is indigo blue rather than black, the scan is not quite correct colour wise.

Tiger ACEO

Sold
I seem to be stuck in the small mode at present, it has a lot to do with the newest member of the family, Cody.

Cody is a huge character in a smal body with plenty of energy and sharp puppy teeth. I'm sure Roxie was trying to work out how to put her in her sleeping cage and fasten the lock today.

This is my latest ACEO, with the original title of 'Tiger'

More Graphite Cat

Progress is slow but I'm slowly building up the layers. You'll notice the ear is still causing me problems, I know how I want to draw it, but my pencils refuse to behave.

Black Cat ACEO

Sold

Another small one, again ACE size 2.5 x 3.5 on black paper.

This is a study for a larger cat I want to do using this technique.

ACEO Cat on Blue Pastel Paper

'Wish Upon a Star'

Sold

I've done almost no art this last week due to a four footed addition to the family, I'll share some photographs soon.

I did have time to do this ACEO, 2.5 x 3.5, coloured pencil and watercolour on blue pastel paper.

Another Mixed Media Cat

I'm using this tabby cat to do another demo on painting cats eyes. I decided to put some fur in first round the eye to give it a setting.

As usual watercolour and colour pencil on hot press watercolour paper.

Book review: Natural History Painting with the Eden Project

I already own the two Botanical art books based round the Eden Project and am impressed with them, so when I spotted this new title I couldn't resist buying it.

Book Details

Natural History Painting with the Eden Project by Rosie Martin and Merial Thurstan

Hardcover: 144 pages
Publisher: Batsford (3 Aug 2009)

One of the things I liked about the other books was the quality of the illustrations and again in this book they were very nice.

The emphasis is on pencil drawing and watercolour and the book covers each part of the painting process.

The book is divided into 15 chapters including 'Setting Up' which discusses materials and includes an exercise in drawing scales accompanied by some excellent drawings.

There is a chapter on colour theory which highlights colour mixing and has some examples of what can be achieved using limited colours.

As well as chapters on 'Bugs', 'Birds' and 'Sea Life'there are more unusual chapters on'Bones', Íridescence' and "Display and Mimicry'

I was a little disappointed there is very little on mammals but the rest of the content makes up for it.

I think the book will appeal to both beginners and more advanced artists as it is sufficiently different from anything else available at present.

The 2009 Exhibition of the Society of Feline Artists

'Moody Blue'

On Tuesday I travelled to London to attend the 2009 Society of Feline Artists Exhibition held at the Llewellyn Alexander Gallery.

I had met up with my friend, fellow artist Katherine Tyrrell. Katherine has written an exhibition review on her blog 'Making a Mark'

My paintings were in the window and the first thing that I noticed was that 'Moody Blue' had already sold, in advance of the official opening.

The opening was exceedingly well attended and as in past years opened by the patron of the Society, David Grant, well known celebrity Vet.

As always the standard was high and the work diverse. You can see lots of photographs of the event on the Society Blog. These can be viewed as a slide show or photo album.

My personal favourite was 'Geoffrey's Cat' by Natalie Mascall, not surprisingly it was already sold.

For anyone interested in feline art the exhibition is well worth a visit, it runs until 18/09/09 and the gallery is open until 7.30pm Monday to Saturday.

I also discovered that The Cat magazine had used an image of 'Moody Blue' to promote the exhibition. The Cat magazine is the official supporter magazine of Cats Protection. That was the finishing touch to a very pleasant afternoon.