Rudy~Complete

SOLD

I think Rudy is finally done. I may do some minor tweaking but I'm pretty happy with the results at this point. I kept to my original palette with the addition of some Crimson Lake for the mouse's ear and nose. I may give him some whiskers, too. Not sure yet. I did wind up softening the edges of the cat's fur and tail with a little white soft pastel.

Note: Tweaks have been completed and the first image has been replaced by the final. I decided not to add whiskers to the mouse. Rudy had enough for both and I felt they would be distracting.

Rudy~WIP 2

Quick update on my progress. Rendering Rudy's fur has been a challenge and I'm not satisfied with my results yet. Phoebe practically painted herself (love when that happens) but Rudy's coloration is far trickier. I haven't even started on his tail or touched the mouse tucked within it. I will continue to work away and may even add some soft pastel at some point to achieve the look of his soft fur. I will say this looks better IRL than on screen. For some unknown reason poor Rudy looks like he's been shot out of a cannon in the above image but no matter how I photographed this painting it always came out looking the same way.

Rudy~WIP

I've just started painting Rudy, a Himalayan cat owned by Marcia Van Osten. Rudy is the litter mate of Phoebe , the subject of my painting titled 'Contemplation'. Marcia has given me permission to use her photos of Rudy for reference plus I'm also working from a description she sent me via Facebook regarding his coloring. Himalayan cats have coloring remarkably similar to Siamese cats, IMO. Incredible blue eyes and that deep coffee brown on their faces and ears. I'm hoping against hope I'm close to the real deal as far as eye and fur coloration. Time and Marcia will tell. My palette for the eyes is Cobalt blue deep and Cerulean, the fur is a mixture of Indigo, Raw Umber with a bit of DS Moonglow thrown in. I gave Rudy a mouse, too. Phoebe has one so I thought it only fair.;)

Epson 725 All-In-One Printer

I recently purchased a new Epson 725 All-In-One (click-able link) from a vendor on Amazon (click-able link). My poor old Dell 922 All-In-One had seen better days and was no longer producing acceptable results so it was time to replace it. The Epson 725 All-In-One should be called a 3-In-One (print, copy and scan) as it has no fax capabilities which I don't need anyway. I read the reviews on Amazon and it sounded like what I was looking for and the price was unbeatable. At the time I placed my order the printer was $129 w/free shipping. It was easy to setup and install and I don't miss the vertical paper feed of my old Dell. The prints from the Epson look very nice. Today I ran some 110# cardstock through it with no problem. I've yet to try running 140# watercolor paper but I'll keep you posted. It's a bit noisy when it's getting ready to run. Some whirs, clicks and humming I'm not used to but nothing I can't live with.

7/23/2011-Follow-up with my new Epson printer: Since purchasing the Epson 725 I will still say I made the right choice however this printer does not like dust. My room is dusty and after about a month or so I began seeing horizontal stripes or gaps in color across my prints. The booklet that came with has a very good chapter on troubleshooting and the printer comes with built in features that will auto clean the print head and print head nozzles. The instructions are easy to follow and simple to carry out. The problem may require cleaning multiple times to correct the issue and I'd recommend providing some sort of cover over the unit to keep the dust down.

The Usual Suspects~WIP & Finish

Shortly after I posted the altered photos I created my drawing and transferred it onto Arches #140 CP. I had a devil of a time deciding how I wanted to go about painting these animals. They sat staring at me until finally it began to drive me nuts and I picked up a brush and just started working. I also gave them back their horns which I protected with frisket film. Bulls need horns, IMO. I've included work in progress photos and my palette consisted of DS Pyrrol red, Quin. gold deep, Indigo, Carbazole violet and DV Quin gold.