Shiva-A look back....

Here is a look at a painting I did, just for the sake of the doing. I got a new watercolor paint color from my FAVORITE art supplier, Daniel Smith (http://danielsmith.com/). It was called "Undersea Green", and you can see from this painting why. I used mostly green, grey and then a light touch of Veridian (red) for contrast.



This is 8x10" on 300 lbs. hot pressed watercolor paper.



As an artist, I cannot stress enough, get the very best supplies you can afford. If you don't follow this advice, you will forever be fighting a bad brush, cheap paint, or the wrong nib... rather than letting your talent stretch, and having the line, color and stroke be exactly as you want the first time, every time.



And as always, you can see a handy gallery of my work at http://www.flickr.com/photos/patricedeavila/


... be inspired.


_____________________________


“Quality is never an accident; it is always the result of high intention, sincere effort, intelligent direction and skillful execution; it represents the wise choice of many alternatives.” William A. Foster

Whats in the works?

The orange cat, Zoot, is one of our other cats, and sibling to Jake. The two portraits are going to be a duo logy but not a diptych. (16x20" pastel over watercolor on stretched watercolor canvas).



The poodle is one of two portraits of Buck, that are for a commission I'm working on. (24x36" pastel painting on stretched watercolor canvas).




________________________________________

“Painting is poetry that is seen rather than felt, and poetry is painting that is felt rather than seen” Leonardo da Vinci

Lovely Jake

I always hesitate to say "I've completed this painting". I truly never feel like a work is "completed", I just know with certainty that I need to quit touching it, as I've hit the point where further work will diminish the whole of this work.


If you've been following my blog, then you've seen the graphite drawing of Jake our lovely little female calico cat. The drawing has always been slightly off. Portrait artists always struggle to not turn a 3/4 pose to face front, and in the drawing, I fairly lost that subconscious battle. This current incarnation of this painting nailed the pose, and this is one of those artistic endeavors that just came together almost effortlessly.

Her coloring and the dynamics of her intense stare make this a fun painting to work on as well.

Please feel free to stop by my flickr gallery page at http://www.flickr.com/photos/patricedeavila

See you again soon.... go make stuff.

_________________________________________________

He who dislikes the cat, was in his former life, a rat.-- Chinese Proverb

Honest Scrap Award.....

Ohttp://www.orangecatblues.com/ just selected me for the honest scrap award,

("When accepting this auspicious award, you must write a post bragging about it, including the name of the misguided soul who thinks you deserve such acclaim, and link back to said person so everyone knows he or she is real. Choose a minimum of seven (7) blogs that you find brilliant in content or design. Or improvise by including bloggers who have no idea who you are because you don’t have seven (7) friends. Show the seven (7) random victims’ names and links and leave a comment informing them that they were prized with “Honest Weblog.” Well, there’s no prize, really, but they can keep the nifty icon. Next, in your blog, list at least ten (10) honest things about yourself. Then, pass it on!")

On first blush, feels a little bit like a chain letter, but the chance to share 7 of my favorite blogs with you is a great opportunity to pass on great, fun and artistic mojo. So without further adieu...

7 wonderful Blogs....

1. The Art Department http://igallo.blogspot.com/ (she always has really great Sci/fi and fantasy art featured on her blog.

2. http://www.linesandcolor

s.com/ because they are always posting interesting art things.

3. My Divine Romance http://aprilhauck.blogspot.com/ cause she is always really open and honest and she thinks deep thoughts sometime, and at other times, she's totally spontaneous and fun.

4. Triment Confidential http://danbusdriverman.blogspot.com/ cause who knew that the life of a bush driver in Portland could be fraught with so much danger from Girl Scouts?

6. Globspot http://steveworthingtonart.blogspot.com/ cause his sculptures are so whimsical, yet realistic... (how can you not adore sumo frogs?)

7. and last but not least, is Fuck you, Penguin http://fuckyoupenguin.blogspot.com/ cause it is the anti lol-cat, the curmudgeon of the animal world... love it!

**************************************************

And 10 honest things...

1. I love contrasting color to a fault.
2. I try to help those in need, be they human or animal
3. I am easily distracted
4. I try to practice loving kindness and acts of compassion (practice practice practice)
5. I like to paint really big
6. I enjoy drawing really small
7. Art and creating is not a choice for me
8. I am blue green color blind
9. I would like to be recognized for all of my art, not just pet portraiture
10. I strive to someday paint like Sargent, Repin, or Nerdrum

Enjoy the blogs I've shared, they are a bit all over the map, but they all share great content and interesting bits of cerebral flotsam and jetsam...

__________________________________________

One of the signs of passing youth is the birth of a sense of fellowship with other human beings as we take our place among them.--Virginia Woolf

Society of Feline Artists....

Very excited as I am now an Associate Member of the Society of Feline Artists. (Yes, my membership card arrived yesterday).

Here is their website, http://www.felineartists.org/

Since they are located in the UK, I've not quite figured out the logistics of participating in shows, but I will cross that bridge this fall. Just excited to be part of this really talented group of people.

__________________________

There's no need for a piece of sculpture in a home that has a cat. --Wesley Bates

Petite Huntress, Reprise....

Wow,  the paintings I've been doing are minimum 16x24" and Jake the Huntress is no exception.  I started this yesterday afternoon and this and viola! It's very close to done.... There is one small correction I want to make and perhaps two more minor layers to the fur texture.  I did a graphite drawing last year from the same photo study and it went very quickly as well.  For some reason, her calico fur is really great fun to do and the intensity of her look is captivating.

As an artist, proportion is always is always tricky and I find that if a subject isn't straight on, I am forever fighting to not unintentionally turn it face on.  You can see this in the graphite drawing in her nose especially.  I got the nose going in the right direction in the pastel and am feeling good about the whole progress of this drawing.

Now if I could learn to crank out a drawing this size every two days... I'd have it made.

__________________

Abominable Snow Bubba.....

Well here he is, in his winter-esque glory.   And after all my discussions about contrast, I actually toned it way down in this painting.  I had my sweet heart along the way given very valuable observations, and he much prefers photo realism over my style of work and I do say that in this portrait, the subtle contrast of the teal and the yellow highlights gives that just snowed quiet atmosphere to Bubba's pensive pose. (His full name is Sherman Tank, but it's Bubba to his friends, and Mr. Tank, to his veterinarian).

If there is a day or two between posts, don't be alarmed, as it's more painting and less blogging.  I got the contract back from my client so I have less than 90 days for his portrait, and I have less than 60 days to my show.  Very heady stuff, this creatin'.....