The Cat & Kaboodle Challenge

This was posted on The DPW painting Challenge on May 14th, and here is what we did in chronological order:

Babs

Cat by Babs

Looking back at the cat challenge I found painting with oils does make it difficult to bring out the cats whiskers, I must find out a way to work that one out, also found I painted  the cat a bit too small. It was Fun to work with all the different colours of fur and getting the expression in the eyes.
It needed a bit more thought than I thought!
Babs

Jo

Cat by Jo

I don't have a cat of my own, so used the photo provided. I started with the general outline and made sure the angles were right. Needing a point to focus around, the eyes and nose were lightly indicated then I could leave the cat while I concentrated on the chair. Got out my new best friend - a mongoose filbert - and really enjoyed laying in the colour! Once dry back with a size 000 to heighten the individual strands of fur and whiskers and put the glint in her eyes. Then a tiny hint of vermillion for the ear, nose and mouth.  Have to admit that getting the facial markings made me go cross-eyed but once the eyes start looking back you have to finish!

Jo

John

Cat by John

When I look at the final result of this cat painting it reminds me of the self portrait I did a few weeks ago, mouth partly open, eyes bulging, generally an expression of frustration, and that is what these challenges are , they push us into areas we don’t normally explore.

On this one I learned how to crawl in a sea of muddy paint and make some sense of it somehow.
The final painting looks better than the photo here- honestly!

John

All three paintings are 6x6 inches