Another feline character! This time though, the painting was originally intended to be a pig believe it or not. It didn’t work out as planned unfortunately as I ended up not liking the look of what I had painted and changed it into a cat. And here another “Juliette Crane-esque” intuitive painting that began with some leftover paint from a previous project.
The Beginning
It started with a page from my sketchbook (Strathmore’s Mixed Media) on which I doodled random shapes and lines with some leftover gouache from another painting.
Then I thought I’d try out my new Neon oil pastels by randomly scribbling on top of the leftover paints with some neon oil pastels by Faber Castell I had purchased earlier. This was followed by some light green water soluble oil pastels in the form of Faber Castell’s Gelatos, then spread with a wet brush. I further added some gold and light blue acrylic ink and once dry, glued on bits of collage paper including paper napkins, wrapping tissue and Mulberry paper. The center bit was deliberately left free of collage to give space for my character.
My Character
I was determined to paint something I never did before. Except that one time a few years ago when it was the year of the Boar in 2019, I had yet to draw a pig. A sketch was then made with charcoal pencil followed by a thin layer of white gesso before painting the face with some orange mixed with white. Then I started on the background by painting some violet on the bottom to create some negative space.
A Change of Character
I continued with the negative space background by painting with some Teal for the sky. Although I was pleased with it, I was not too sure about my character. It didn’t look like a pig for one thing as the ears were too long although I did like the colors from the paper napkin collage on the layer below. Not wanting to alter the shape of the ears, it was then that I decided to switch her into something I am more comfortable with painting: a cat! And there I went about changing the eye shape, adding a crown on top and doodling some flowers on the background with some white Moltow marker. Some neon red gouache was also dotted around. However, I didn’t like the roundness of her face. A few pieces of craft-punched origami paper flowers were then introduced to frame it and make it look less round.
Making Kitty Pretty
Along with a few more origami paper flowers around her face, the eyes were also redone. First lined with some black glittery pen then filled in with some iridescent green paint by Old Holland. The crown was the filled in with some Full Body gold acrylic paint by Golden then lined with some glitter glue. Seeing that the collage papers in the upper left corner were still showing through and looking too harsh, I played them down by tapping on some bubble wrap sheet dabbed in white paint. And now we’re talking! Doesn’t my Kitty look so adorable with those huge emerald eyes and colorful costume?
I’m very pleased with how this painting turned out despite the little change in the middle of the session. Sometimes, when things are not working out as you were hoping, it’s good to redirect the course of action. It goes without saying of course that things happen for a reason don’t they? After following a few classes, I’ve picked up a few ideas and incorporated them independently which I’m proud of. I shall definitely be doing more like this but next time I’ll give it another try with a character out of my comfort zone!
My Kawaii Quarter 