Siamese Cat

I'm delighted to tell you that I've been asked to create a painting for an upcoming exhibit in Key West! The exhibit is next month during the monthly Walk On White. Held on the third Thursday of each month, it draws quite a crowd.

Usually I create my paintings from photographs. I see something that catches my eye, I take lots of pictures and I create a composition in Photoshop that then becomes my reference photo. This time, though, the painting was created in my head. It is a much bigger challenge for me that way, but I love a challenge. So, first I sketched in my sketch book. Then, I looked at lots and lots of photos on the internet. And I studied my own cat. A few weeks ago, I purchased a beautiful hardwood board that is 8" x 16", originally thinking it would be a fun horizontal format. Once I found that board, I sketched the cat again, this time on a piece of paper large enough for the 8" x 16" format. I gessoed the board with three coats of gesso, sanding in between coats. Then, I toned the board with an unbleached titanium white - which is a lovely warm tannish color. I traced the sketch and then used graphite paper to transfer the image to the board. To keep the graphite from bleeding through the oil paint, I sprayed the board with a workable fixative before I started painting.

At this point the painting is nearly done. I spent hours yesterday painting the eyes on and then wiping them off. They are nearly right now, but still need work. And I'm not quite sure about the background. I've gone over the entire background with a mix of naples yellow and white, which is very similar to the unbleached titanium background I started with. The past few nights, I have gone to sleep changing background colors in my head. Attempts in Photoshop were futile. Tomorrow, I hope it will become clear, because I hope to finish it then!

susan
www.susangarriques.com
susan@susangarriques.com