April 03, 2013

Kitty Kitty

Double Trouble (36 x 24, oil on linen panel) - click for a larger view
 
Generally, when I approach a painting with this amount of complexity, I have a pretty good plan for executing it. I hope I won't take the magic away by telling you that this kitty (Rosie) was not actually sleeping on that slipper, nor was she actually playing with that string, nor was she actually asleep on that particular floor. Those are all elements I wanted to introduce to tell "my" painting's story. When working through the steps, initially I thought I would paint Rosie and then paint her full reflection on the black tiled floor.
 
Um, what was I thinking?! As soon as I started painting Rosie, I realized I would need to paint both Rosies at the same time so I could exactly match the color on my brush for both cats and (as accurately as possible) capture the exact opposite stroke/direction for the fur in the reflection. Well, I wasn't using my right hand for much anyway so I turned the canvas horizontally and picked up a second paintbrush.
 
 
And this was how I painted most of the painting. There were points where I thought maybe I was headed for the crazy house (or perhaps I was already there) but, like a really good puzzle, I found that concentrating on one section at a time was my only hope for sanity. In the end, I like to think I was able to maintain that :).
 
Cheers,
Sandy


10 comments:

  1. Delightful, amazing and ingenious technique! Your art is always so beautiful. Thanks for sharing your artworks...and your clever solution.

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  2. This is so impressive, Sandy. To me, it would be like tapping your head and rubbing your belly..LOL. It's a talent in itself!! This painting is gorgeous and the reflections is perfectly done!!
    Congratulations on a beautiful piece!!!

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  3. You are a very brave woman, also very talented and very clever! Gorgeous results!

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  4. wow, Interesting two handed technique! Absolutely FABULOUS results!!

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  5. Wow - what a great idea - I had never thought of trying this!
    I LOVE the fact that the cat has fallen asleep in a slipper and is still holding on to a ball of string. My favorite paintings always tell a story :0)
    This is such a remarkable piece of art. I'm in total awe! :0)

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  6. Beautiful painting! Before I read your comments, I wondered how you were able to replicate each tuft of fur in the reflection. When I read your explanation, I laughed...genius! This is quite the painting - I love it.

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  7. What a great tip! And a great painting!

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  8. Thank you all so much for your amazingly kind comments!

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  9. Really wonderful--and interesting!! So neat to see the second picture of the way it was done. Thanks!

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  10. WOW!! Sandy this is stunning!!! beautifully done!

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