Here is the beginning of Christmas Kitty. It began with an idea, as all paintings really should, and proceeded to a thumbnail sketch to help me visualize the value pattern created by the Christmas tree as it created a shadowed area from which a hiding cat emerges. Once I sketched it out, I saw the possibilities that the image could be with all that darkness and the contrasting bright light from a distant door or window shining across the floor. I got excited about how to use the darkness to aid in the depiction of the branches. I imagined a deep dark underpainting from which just the suggestion of the green needles emerged.
My underpainting was done primarily in a deep reddish-purple and vibrant orange-gold. All by itself, this underpainting begins to create the graphic impact I was after: a primarily low key (dark value) painting with a high contrast area created by the distant light that would attract the eye initially toward the ornament and then cause the viewer to be caught by surprise by the cat. The ornament was underpainted in green to tone and contrast with the next layer of red. And the dark area in the tree underpainting likewise has red complementary tones to help the green pop against it.
The detail was added to the cat with careful attention to the light source. Note how half the cat is in light and half in shadow with hints of the orange toned floor reflected in the shadowed side as an indirect source of illumination. The direction and characteristics of tree branches were initially only suggested with a deep green against the deep reddish-purple. Close observation of the loose brushstrokes allowed my imagination to form a tree as the branches slowly create themselves. As the direction of the branches becomes apparent, successively lighter parts are added to suggest needles coming forward and catching the light.
Finally, the details such as highlights in the ornament and the bright areas where the Christmas lights are glowing are refined. Christmas Kitty is a painting for the viewer to bring his or her own experiences and memories to it . Can’t we all think of a time a mischievous feline has been hiding in a dark out-of-the-way spot or crouched in fascination with a sparkling festive decoration? Merry Christmas to you, my friend!
Christmas Kitty
8 x 8 Oil on panel
I like the explanation of t the steps you took to create this painting. I am sure people who do not paint ave no idea of how you did this and the explanation is wonderful. You have a mighty talent, Kathy!!!
Also: I love the story of Dan………in your previous article. To me this is the essence of being creative….the connection with others, and in creating art that is meaningful and authentic.