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Cat-Portrait---Willow-acrylics-2020.jpg

Willow - cat portrait in acrylic

Kate Tugwell February 7, 2020
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This is the start of a portrait Willow who is destined to join her friends Eddie and Jess on the red wall of fame. I started by cropping all he various photos to see which one might work best on a 12 x 16” box canvas and decided the one of her showing her tummy might work best. I sketched a detailed drawing of all her markings and moved her tail to a different position so it wouldn’t go off the canvas and would curl around her a bit. Then, using a mix of payne’s grey, mars black and a bit of yellow ochre the cast shadows were painted in with a big brush, followed by the darker markings using a fine brush. White was mixed with blues, purples and greys to form the shadows on areas of white fur and a few of the mid-tones were added. This was left to dry before the background colour was painted over the shadows, around the cat and down the deep edges of the canvas. This colour was tricky to mix as I want to match it to the other portraits previously painted, to tie them all together as I can’t remember exactly what I used. I will probably rebalance this later on but I wanted to see how this would affect the colour of Willow’s coat. Next, I mixed a variety of cool and warm browns and greys and applied them as washes over the tabby markings, leaving some layers to dry and others to merge. The last two images show the most work but not a lot appears to change or is terribly apparent in photographs as layers of different colours and tones are applied with small brushes to build up the depth and density of the coat. I also deepened up the cast shadows and played with the background with a big brush, which took less time and gave me a break from the detail. I’m nearly finished… I just need to balance the lights and darks and paint those all-important whiskers!

← Warney Mill - An adapted pen drawingTed and Frodo - Double Pastel Portrait →

 

 

Welcome to my blog

I am not a regular blogger but I intend to put up all sorts of arty stuff over time in the hope that other art enthusiasts get inspired.

The primary reason for this blog is for customers who have commissioned a painting to see how their portrait is progressing but there will be other news too. If you would like to commission me to paint your pet, family or friend then please fill out the contact form.

For older posts please go to: http://portrait-artist-kate.blogspot.com 

Fancy learning how to draw and paint? Click on the Art Courses page to find out more...

  • March 2015 1
    • Mar 24, 2015 Jess - cat portrait in acrylic paint Mar 24, 2015
  • May 2015 1
    • May 20, 2015 Inspirational Visits May 20, 2015
  • June 2015 1
    • Jun 25, 2015 A Creative Weekend at West Dean Jun 25, 2015
  • July 2015 3
    • Jul 6, 2015 Hot off the press! Jul 6, 2015
    • Jul 15, 2015 Are Art Classes Good For Your Health? Jul 15, 2015
    • Jul 30, 2015 Rosie - Portrait of a Boxer Dog Jul 30, 2015
  • September 2015 1
    • Sep 21, 2015 Confessions of a Holiday Painter Sep 21, 2015
  • October 2015 1
    • Oct 27, 2015 Charity Art Exhibition Oct 27, 2015
  • November 2015 3
    • Nov 9, 2015 Pastel Portrait of Lady Nov 9, 2015
    • Nov 16, 2015 Family Cat Portraits Nov 16, 2015
    • Nov 23, 2015 Portrait of Poppy Nov 23, 2015
  • December 2015 3
    • Dec 3, 2015 Pastel Portrait of Saffy the Siamese Dec 3, 2015
    • Dec 10, 2015 Pastel Portrait of Bingo Dec 10, 2015
    • Dec 21, 2015 Portrait of Poppy continued & completed! Dec 21, 2015
  • January 2016 2
    • Jan 8, 2016 Happy New Year! Jan 8, 2016
    • Jan 20, 2016 Pastel Portrait of Sacha Jan 20, 2016
  • February 2016 1
    • Feb 17, 2016 Acrylic Dog Portrait - Belushi Feb 17, 2016
  • May 2016 1
    • May 10, 2016 Hapless Holidays? May 10, 2016
  • June 2016 1
    • Jun 18, 2016 Portrait Course Portrait Jun 18, 2016
  • July 2016 2
    • Jul 17, 2016 Charlotte & Annie - a portrait in acrylics Jul 17, 2016
    • Jul 21, 2016 Just Annie - horse portrait in oils Jul 21, 2016
  • August 2016 2
    • Aug 10, 2016 A Wedding Portrait in Oils Aug 10, 2016
    • Aug 19, 2016 Other Summer Commissions Aug 19, 2016
  • October 2016 1
    • Oct 24, 2016 Miniature Watercolour Horse's Head Oct 24, 2016
  • November 2016 1
    • Nov 20, 2016 Four Golden Retrievers in Pastel Nov 20, 2016
  • May 2017 1
    • May 31, 2017 Baggins - cat portrait in pastel May 31, 2017
  • August 2017 2
    • Aug 5, 2017 Painted Dog Statue Aug 5, 2017
    • Aug 21, 2017 Other paintings in various mediums... Aug 21, 2017
  • September 2017 1
    • Sep 28, 2017 King Charles Spaniel Sep 28, 2017
  • November 2017 1
    • Nov 27, 2017 Lady Lucy - Elizabethan cat portrait Nov 27, 2017
  • December 2017 1
    • Dec 11, 2017 Christmas commission in black & white Dec 11, 2017
  • January 2018 1
    • Jan 27, 2018 Belle - dog pastel portrait Jan 27, 2018
  • January 2019 1
    • Jan 30, 2019 In memory of Doris Jan 30, 2019
  • October 2019 1
    • Oct 30, 2019 Bruno - Boxer Dog in Acrylic Oct 30, 2019
  • November 2019 1
    • Nov 11, 2019 Brandy - Horse Portrait in Oil Nov 11, 2019
  • December 2019 1
    • Dec 10, 2019 Ted and Frodo - Double Pastel Portrait Dec 10, 2019
  • February 2020 2
    • Feb 7, 2020 Willow - cat portrait in acrylic Feb 7, 2020
    • Feb 22, 2020 Warney Mill - An adapted pen drawing Feb 22, 2020
  • August 2020 1
    • Aug 26, 2020 Betty - pastel of a black lab Aug 26, 2020
  • November 2020 2
    • Nov 24, 2020 Buster - pastel of a black & white cat Nov 24, 2020
    • Nov 26, 2020 Sussex landscape photographs for inspiration... Nov 26, 2020
  • March 2021 1
    • Mar 12, 2021 Sue with margarita and giraffe Mar 12, 2021
  • September 2021 1
    • Sep 16, 2021 Pippin - dog portrait in pastel Sep 16, 2021
  • October 2021 1
    • Oct 6, 2021 A cat called Arlo in pastel Oct 6, 2021
  • September 2022 1
    • Sep 4, 2022 How to gesso a wooden panel in preparation for painting Sep 4, 2022
  • October 2022 2
    • Oct 5, 2022 Ella & Josh abstract pastel Oct 5, 2022
    • Oct 26, 2022 Taz - a staffie in pastel Oct 26, 2022

To enquire about Portrait Commissions or Art Classes please contact Kate via email

The content and ALL images on this website are copyright © Kate Tugwell. Please note that I retain the reproduction/copyright of my artwork; no drawing may be copied, reproduced or published without my written permission.
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