Kitten Meow Meow

[Delofasht]

Nearly done with my painting of my cat, Kitten Meow Meow (most creative name ever, I know). I'd been using this painting to show my process and uses for each of my oil brush presets that I use to paint normally and achieve the results I like in my work. I've been working from a reference but I'm well aware that it was a photo and as such had a lot of bad information (like overly distorted perspective causing her head to be MUCH larger than it looks without the lens and all) so I've been adjusting it somewhat and making up some fun lighting as I go, up until this phase I'd only hinted at what I'm going to be doing and even here it's not really set in stone yet but in the next pass I will be putting in highlights and tinting areas with color and all sorts of fun stuff to make her look like she's getting blue light from the right side of the image (where my front door window lets light in) and a warm light from the left side of the image (where my indoor lamp is located). There was a lot of diffused light in the reference that really flattened her out too so I'm working making this stuff up as I go.



- Delo

[Marilyn Anne]

So alert and with wonderful markings. I think you are doing a good job.

[Caesar]

It seems to have been made with soft wool balls and knitting needles! You brilliantly associated them, since cats love to play with wool balls ... LOL

[Delofasht]

In the wee hours of the morn, I awoke. . . and needed to paint. So I finished the Kitten off so that I will have at least completed it! Now I can work on my next landscape!

[gxhpainter2]

nice job, the fur is soft and I like the soft implied lighting and unusual angles, good luck at the craft faire today...what sizes are your prints? do you frame them?

[Delofasht]

Thanks, I really like odd perspectives in my work. Just getting a different angle on something really lets us see it in a different way. I find that we tend to attribute more emotion or mood to a piece when it's not quite in a normal orientation, and it really pleases me to know that the soft lighting is working. Getting soft lighting to work in a painting has been probably the hardest thing for me to do but what I'm always trying to do well. Hard dramatic lighting is extremely fun, but I'd found it so much easier than a good soft light. It's so challenging to maintain the form while still creating interest, things tend to end up flat very often. For made up lighting that is, direct light is much easier for me to imagine.

I take unframed, unmatted prints, of roughly 4 sizes, a few long skinny ones 5x12 in., a few 7x11 in., many 9x12 in., and a good amount of 13x19 in. Different sizes and shapes for different people, I like the long skinny ones on my wall quite a bit, and one day I'm gonna make some much larger prints.

[D Akey]

Gotta love cats. Nice painting!

Mine has a cone on around her head to keep her from re-opening a wound. So mine would not want to sit still for a portrait just now. She needs to learn patience. Yours looks quite happy and even proud of your immortalizing her. Her fame has spread throughout the cat kingdom and her name is on everyone's lips.