21/7/2024 0 Comments Painting a kitten with acrylicsThis blog post has some of my phone progress pics and process from painting 'CatiDude' (ginger tabby & white kitten). Pic of final painting (with my camera for fine art prints, below). Some of the tips in this blog post are transferrable to any painting subject. Reference picsThe pics in the gallery below are the main reference pic (a photo I took a few years ago). I had cropped the ears of the fast-moving kitten and I thought I wanted a composition with ears (without the cast shadows). So I did a rough mockup, digitally 'painting' on ears (looking at other pics I'd taken of this kitten) and switching to a portrait format. I also made a greyscale version to see tones (lights, darks) better. The painting processThe pics in the gallery below are with my phone under artificial lighting. My phone also tends to exaggerate blues. Paintings can go through an 'ugly' stage in the early and intermediate steps. This is just part of the process. Painting with acrylics has best results, I think, with multiple interacting layers. This painting took me at least 5 hours to complete, and has over a dozen layers of paint. I use thinner layers for most of the painting, with a little thicker paint near the end. I use a different combination of pigments for every painting. After doing some test mixes in my art journal, I chose one blue and two neutrals as my main palette (plus white). Plus a few brighter colours for finishing touches. The kitten was light ginger and I didn't want to start with too dark or cool as a 'ground' (first coloured layer as the foundation). I applied a thin layer of yellow ochre, a brownish yellow (incidentally, I used to despite yellow ochre but I've since found it to be a useful addition for more natural colours, with landscapes, portraits etc). I mostly looked at the greyscale pic to start with. I didn't draw my composition with pencil, nor use a grid. I prefer to work on my sketching skills. I sketched out with thin paint in a neutral colour (it's easier to paint over lights and neutrals than to paint over brights and darks). I used a damp brush to rub back some lighter areas (similar to how traditional oil painters rub back lighter areas with solvent). During the sketch, with brownish paint, I constantly compared relative proportions, sizes, placements, rather like a complicated jigsaw puzzle. Then, I used a darker bluish mixed neutral for the background. Using 'negative space' (looking at the shapes outside the main subject. At this stage, I had used no white. Learning to sketch without relying on gridding or tracing is useful. It also helps with improvising. I needed to improvise ears, change lighting and sometimes I exaggerate proportions. A helpful tip when sketching is to look for the rough blocks of tones (eg areas in light/shadow). I don't see the point in doing a detailed drawing, as it will be painted over, anyway. Tips and TechniquesThen, I started mapping out the lighter areas, with greys mixed with the colours I'd chosen plus white. It's easier to work with a limited palette when working with tricky proportions and tones. For most of the painting, I used three colours. I realised I wanted to shift the eyes, so I just blanked out the area where they go, with a thin layer of white. I dried each layer when I wanted to change to a different colour or go lighter/darker (a hairdryer helps in cold weather). I didn't want to go straight in with the bright blue for the eyes. So, I used a mixed blue-grey first (as I could always paint back over it). Same for the placement of the nose and mouth. When I was happy with the eye placement, that's when I used the brighter blue (a mix of two blues, mainly). I used two reds for the nose and mouth, modified with other colours I'd already used. At times, I added some spare paint from my mixes to the background and foreground, to help unify the piece. Note that the background is painted in conjunction with the main subject, not left until the end. Brushstrokes for fur is layered slightly over the background edges. I used several different brushes, starting with larger brushes and then near the end, using fine brushes. The fine fuzzy fur was mostly done with a fan brush. Fine brushes were used for fur in detail areas plus whiskers. Near the end, I used glazes (thinner layers of transparent paint), to bring back some of the colours (as mixes with white tend to go chalky). Most of the 'ginger' colours of the kitten were yellow ochre mixes. At the very end, I added some highlights with pure white. A short video showing some of the process, of painting 'CatiDude'. Pet Portrait CommissionsNow open for pet portrait commission requests (New Zealand only). A percentage of pet portraits goes to a New Zealand cat rescue. All pet species welcome. Tips for taking better pet photos (good pics are helpful for commissions too). Original Art & Fine Art Prints'CatiDude' is named as a variation of 'Cattitude = cat + attitude plus 'dude' for the kitten's personality. Available as fine art prints in 8x10" (203x254mm) archival rated fine art prints. Options with and without a border. All proceeds of pet-themed art prints go to a New Zealand cat rescue. There are currently three pet prints to choose from. The original painting is also currently for sale. 'CatiDude' ginger kitten fine art print
NZ$35.00
Portrait of a cute, ginger tabby and white kitten. Giclee fine art prints from an original painting by Xanthe Wyse. 'CatiDude' from combining 'cat', 'attitude' and 'dude' to reflect this kitty's personality. Archival-rated print with pigment-based inks on 275g soft white, matte, textured, acid-free paper. Canvas texture visible in the print. Prices are in New Zealand dollars. Option with and without a border. Paper is is 8x10" (203x254mm).
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