I have done some more work to this cat painting.  I dont know if I have said the size of this before, it is only 16"x12" and is being done in oils.  The eyes and nose are what I am working on the most.  I am building up the green in thin washes, they dry pretty quick because I used liquin to thin it.  From here the eyes will then start to have white added to  take the green back down again.  I have also got to use raw umber to add shadow across the top of the eyes to add more depth.  Last of all a blob of white paint in each eye will bring him to life, hopefully!

 

I have started to add a small amount of colour to the eyes and nose.  The nose has just got a faint hint of pink and the eyes I have started to put on green washes.  I'm not sure whether the ears are right, but to try to put them right might ruin the whole thing so I will have to keep thinking about it.  The cat's right side is still not even so I will put a bit more on there.
The votes I have at Saatchi online has reached the massive total of 640 which is absolutely incredible.  If you are looking and would like to vote here is the link again, we have until Monday 15 March.
http://www.saatchi-gallery.co.uk/showdown/index.php?showpic=257530

I've evened it up!

Getting addicted to this animal thing at the moment and last night I started this painting of a cat.  The background is raw umber and for the fur I used titanium white.  The eyes are in lamp black and titanium white.  The only colour that will be in this painting will be in the eyes but I cant do that until it is totally dry, I will then build the colour up in very thin layers of green wash until I think it's right.  I am anticipating it needing about four or five layers.  Looking at the photo I can also see that the cheeks on the cat's right side are a little bit short so I will extend that out a bit.  Cant do it at the moment because I have tidied the background up with more raw umber.

P.S.  I would be really pleased if you could vote for me on the Saatchi Online site, so far I have an amazing 470 votes after expecting to get 0. The link is below:
http://www.saatchi-gallery.co.uk/showdown/index.php?showpic=257530

 

 

Day 2 of this particular dog picture, everythings ok on it except for the two big clumps of hair near the eyes.  This has gone a bit wrong, I will leave it and put it right (I hope) when it's dry.  I have to say, I quite enjoy doing animals and I didn't think I would not having any pets except for a rabbit that comes to stay with us every now and again.

I have checked on the Saatchi site again today and now I have over 300 votes.  I find that incredible.  More than 300 people have taken the time and trouble to vote on one of my paintings!  I will put the link on here again and please feel free to vote if you want, I would be really grateful because, apparently, the winners have to get a couple of thousand votes.
http://www.saatchi-gallery.co.uk/showdown/index.php?showpic=257530

Today I started another oil of a dog called Scruff.  He is a terrier. this is just the underpainting although some of the fur might stay like this.  The nose will definately change, that will be black.  The colours I have used are raw umber for the background, titanium beige for the rest. 

I had another almighty shock today.  I joined Saatchi online a couple of months ago and discovered they have this monthly competition thing called Showdown.  I stuck one of my paintings into it, not really expecting anything at all and certainly not expecting anyone to vote for it.  I remembered today that I had done that so took a look, there were 170 votes for it, WHAT!  I was completely blown away, of course, it could be that all of the others have 1000 but who cares, I have got 170.  I tweeted this and people that I talk to on there have also voted, bless em, and now I have 200.  I'll put the link to down below if anyone wants to vote aswell I would be really happy.

http://www.saatchi-gallery.co.uk/showdown/index.php?showpic=257530

 

 

The face has gone back to cream again, I am trying to add definition rather than colour.  At the last minute I will scumble some colour into the face.  I am waiting for the eyes to dry before I can continue with those too.  Today I have been adding more black and white to the lines , I think there are about four layers of white in each line now but only two of the black.  It took about a week for the black to dry so I am in for a little wait again as another layer of that has gone on.  I have also added the start of the buckles on the braces and also the fastening on the trousers.  I have got to make the shoes look shiny too but I will probably do that as one of the last tasks. 

I've been really busy but not on the painting side.  I have been preparing lots of paintings that are going out at the end of this month and the start of April.  I have been documenting and labelling ten paintings all together and that's not including the two that are still at the framers.  That's not to say that the framers are taking a long time, I only took them there last week.  I didn't say that the reason it took me so long to do all this labelling is because I have a new pc.  With that new pc I have Windows 7, what a nightmare, I couldn't even find Word let alone the labels.  Still got there in the end.

So where are we off to this month and April.  First it's over to The Herbert Gallery in Coventry, West Midlands.  About a week later it's off to Rugby Art Gallery then over to Worcester Art Gallery.  I have also got one going into The Lock Gallery in Coventry about the middle of April.  After that it's the Kenilworth Festival, which is May, that was the first one I put any work into last year and, amazingly, I came fourth best in show.  That spurred me on to submit further paintings to other shows and that's how it all started, I think.

I have to go now, having real problems with this keyboard, some of the letters have stopped working so I'm having to think of other words to use.  I cant even tell you which ones are not working because they dont show up....look..... net, that is not supposed to say net, it should have a letter in front of the t making it say net.  Oh I give up.  thank you so much for taking the time and trouble to look at my site, I really appreciate it you know.

P.S. I just let hubby know that the keyboard wasn't working and he's fixed it, he had a look and turned it upside down, gave it a shake, then a tap, lots of bits of crisps and biscuit crumbs fell out.  Now it works, the word that I was trying to use was next but, I know you'll bare with me on this one, I really cant be arsed to go through and write it all again so I'll leave it like this. By for now, lots of love Wendy.

 

Here it is, this is what I have done today.  What is it or rather what was it?  I have paced the floor for ages, couldn't settle and was trying to do some more work on the giraffe.  In the end I have covered it in raw umber paint and will start again probably doing something else.  That was what I needed to do because now I've stopped pacing! 

This one is still going though, it's drying and was "out of the way" when I got the raw umber out!

Cracking on now, I have been filling in the colours of the clothes and shoes all day.  At the moment it appears to be working but the painting is still young I think.  Tea shirts are done in lamp black and titanium white, braces are in cadium red.  I have used the paint quite thick so it's going to be at least a week before I will be able to touch it again.  The black takes ages to dry, so does the red.  The face was not dry enough today for me to do any more work on it so that's still the same.  Now I will go back to the giraffe while this one is drying.

 

 

I adore Tim Burton, Helena Bonham-Carter and Johnny Depp.  Tim Burton's images are absolutely wonderful.  I couldn't resist doing Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum and this is as far as I've got with the painting.  I started to create depth with the face and also marking out the stripes on the t-shirts and socks.  Still a long way to go though will keep you all posted on it.