Maine Coon Kitten~WIP

As you can see, I have a ways to go yet. I don't really want to get into too much detail on this one but it won't be as loose as the others. Closeup of the face. Notice the eye color is so similar to a dog's. Btw, I haven't removed the masking yet.

I'm taking a big chance and posting a WIP that's actually still in progress. I don't normally do that. I have no idea if this little guy will turn out to my satisfaction but I couldn't resist posting a quick update. Last week was a busy one for me. Two trips to the printers that take half a day each, shopping to do(and I hate grocery shopping}:( ), getting work ready to deliver to the gallery...blah, blah. Anyway, not much painting went on around here. I had planned to do another dog but I kept coming back to a reference photo of a Maine Coon kitten, submitted by SNAG on WC. Finally I gave in and started painting it. This one won't be as loose as the others. IMO, it demands a bit more detail and time.



Tracey Costescu(see her blog link on my link list!)kindly gave me some pointers on using the masque pen and I've now made friends with the thing. It sure came in handy on this project because Maine Coons have lots of whiskers and an abundance of hair sprouting around their ears. I also noticed as I was painting that Maine Coons have eyes a lot like dog eyes so the timing on this was perfect. I hesitated to use mask on the catchlights in the eyes. I just don't like the results and avoid it whenever possible. However, I knew I'd be spraying water on this as I went along so I had to preserve the lights somehow. While doing the previous several animal paintings I discovered if I paint around the catchlights first, then apply my masking fluid allowing it to extend a tiny bit over the nearby color, I don't get that really hard edge. The masking fluid will lift some color when it's removed so the result is a softer, more natural catchlight.