Tabby Cat in Oil Pastel

'Fluffy' 6 x 6 inches

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I was clearing out a cupboard and found my oil pastels so it seemed like a good idea to stop cleaning and start creating.

I had a pack of three 6 x 6 inch Ampersand gessobords so decided to see how oil pastel worked on one.

I put a fairly thick basecoat down first which I then blended, using my finger for larger areas and a colour shaper for the smaller. On top of that I started adding more colour for the details, again using a colour shaper to draw out fine hairs. I kept the end of the shaper damp which I found made it easier to move through the pastel without dragging the colour in uneven strokes.

Once there was a thick layer of oil pastel I scratched into it using the broken end of a paintbrush (Cody was responsible for the demise of my brush) to create even finer hairs and the whiskers.

I was pleasantly surprised with the detail I could achieve.

Painting a tiger in acrylic

I haven't been around lately because I've been spending all my time painting. I had this foolish notion that it would be like drawing with a brush and I would just be able to transfer my drawing skills to painting. How wrong I was.

I am on version number 4, having settled on acrylic rather than oil for the time being. With having the dogs, especially Clinton who lies under my drawing table, I was worried about the potential toxic effects of the solvent.

This is the first time I have been happy with my progress, although an earlier version did have furry fur, but it looked muddy.

It is all acrylic, 8 x 10 on Ampersand gessobord, i transferred my line drawing using graphite paper. There is more tiger but nothing to see yet.