Naughty Cat…

Hey so it’s part two of my art journaling about the cat and the seashell! Last week, I documented that first part in “The Cat Put it There!” which appeared on the left hand side of the sketchbook page spread. This second part lies on the right hand side. To recap: I noticed a lone seashell lying in the middle of our flower-bed the other day. We don’t even live near the sea so how can that be? A bird perhaps or it somehow got mixed in the soil during transport. Who knows. “Maybe the cat put it there”, joked my boyfriend. “Cats like fish, right? So the cat put the shell there!” Interesting logic. Yet cute. And here I began imagining how these naughty cats could possibly be mischievely placing a lone seashell in our garden. Then of course followed a little art journal doodle…

Simple Pencil Sketch

This was the original idea: A lone shell lying under a bunch of daisies in our garden. Only this time for the drawing, though, I exaggerated the size of the flowers and instead of one shell, I made it two! And of course is the naughty cat mischievously sneaking in and placing one below the flowers. Just a rough sketch. I have to admit drawing a shell was not easy at all, and I struggled getting it right till I followed some step-by-step instructions on-line. Gotta practice more, but so far, so cute!

Adding Color

I decided to be resourceful again and use up some leftover watercolor in the dish. Starting with the background, I made my way through most of it. Then a layer of gouache was added to enhance the colors. It is the first time for me to try out my new set of Holbein’s Gouache, not to be confused with Hobein’s Acryla Gouache. Unlike the latter, this one is more pure gouache with no acrylic elements and hence is not water resistant. Sort of like watercolor but more chalky and opaque. Although the daffodils are actually white with an orange/yellow center, I thought I’d be a bit more creative and alter the colors simply since I wanted to experiment with color. Some fine details like the dots on the flowers and Kitty’s eyes were done with gel pen.

Make it More Interesting

Although I was generally happy with the result, I was not sure about the shells. The paint used was an iridescent pearl but on paper appears silver. Problem solved by a some white Uni Posca Pen! Though not very visible on paper, I tapped on some blue glitter in the center of the flowers and some pink on the kitten’s white collar whilst lining the eyes with glitter pen as well. As a finishing touch, I introduced some writing by typing “The Cat Put it There!” and “Naughty Cat…” on a seperate paper, cutting and pasting. Rarely do I add writing since my handwriting is not even so a typed version seemed a great idea. Et voilà!

Another fun go at some relaxing art journaling! Great to be able to finally sit down and sketch like this and develop it into something cute and interesting. It was also a good chance for me to further use up more of my leftover paint and play around and experiment with my new set of gouache which worked rather well. And now, I might make a trilogy out of the Cat and Shell by creating a cute digital painting and later on some mixed media art using real shells. So watch this space!