Link
This year, Father’s Day fell the day after my mom’s birthday. I’ve sometimes felt that I spend a lot of time doing commissions but don’t always spend the time and energy sharing that time and energy with my family and friends. Over the holidays, my parents’ cat Link (fka “Mr. Binky”) sat for a portrait for me. He is a very funny cat who sometimes takes himself very seriously – for instance, trying to act nonchalant when losing his footing or acting scandalized when the humans are being silly – but other times he seems to have a sense of humor, racing me up the stairs hiding under the bed in hopes that I won’t notice.
This portrait was a good challenge for me, since tabby fur can be so complex. It’s very tempting to get out an eye-lash thin brush and articulate every fleck of white or black to add texture, but it can end up looking hyperrealistic and leave an awkward digital graphics vibe. Instead, I went heavy on the colored pencil, which naturally creates a texture with the grain of the paper, especially when combined with layers of different tones. Colored pencil also adds some punch to the saturation of darks. Black (for example) can very easily look dull with watercolors as it absorbs in the the paper and the moisture evaporates.
I’ve been very attracted to floating frames lately, especially for watercolors (which is mostly what I’ve been doing lately as far as work that needs framing goes). Even if the paper itself is flush with the edges of the frame so that it doesn’t actually float, the two panes of glass sandwich the paper very tightly, which flattens any buckling that has occurred during the wetting and drying of the paper. My worst fear when framing is that the work will look uneven or warped over time, as seasons change and humidity seeps in and out, so this helps impose flatness.
You can view some details of the portrait here: Pet portraits
