Argie in his Blanket

 

"Argie in his Blanket" (pastel, 8x6 inches) bid or buy

Here's a quick speed video of Argie expertly edited by my son. Enjoy!

Muses and Buddies on my Patreon can watch the real-time video in Episode 122 here!

If you pay attention you can see when I when I wipe off most of the first try, to correct the drawing and values and paint it again!

#19 of 21-in-31 "Mewler Contented"

 

"Mewler Contented" (pastel, 10x8 inches, available framed) might be with me at the Midland Septemberfest Art festival Sept 9-11, 2022.

Back to some of my last underpainting batch now, heading into the final paintings of my month's goal!

This was from a pic of Mewler as a kitten, sitting on my lap in the morning. First thing in the morning (before the house has warmed back up to summertime temps) is the only time he's a snuggly lap cat.

I had fun painting all these textures! I hope you enjoy this quick video of the pasteling. I was able to leave a considerable amount of underpainting showing... Mewler's coloring was a good warm match for the gold and terra cotta colors.

T is for Tiger

 

"T is for Tiger" (pastel, 12x12)

Among the few paintings I picked up from a gallery last month, this is one of my favorites from my Alphabet Series. I started the series a few years back to get myself out of a painting slump. It worked, as the series is still not complete!

I was really happy with the looseness I was able to achieve with this tiger. I really don't know why he hasn't sold yet, when the Lion and the Meerkat and the Dolphin and the Hippo and many others (even the Quail!) all sold pretty quickly. But that's to my benefit now, because I can take this Tiger to The Woodlands Waterway Art Fest next weekend (near Houston TX.) If you're in the area be sure to stop by, I'll be in booth 404 by the Water Color Terrace near the center of things!

Enjoy these progress pics of "T is for Tiger"!

C is for Cheetah

 On my way back from Florida, I stopped and pulled my work out of the only other gallery I was still in besides my partnership in the Carriage House Gallery in Boerne. Nothing had sold there in quite a while. I know, there was the pandemic, but still. Stuff was still moving (a bit) in Boerne during that time.
So I feel some relief to have one less thing to keep track of, and now I feel like showing off some of the pieces I picked up from there, some of them have aged well!
This is "C is for Cheetah"  (pastel, 20x10 inches, $800 framed) one of the largest paintings in my still unfinished Animal Alphabet Series of 2016. I felt this needed a fairly decent size in order to do justice to the spots.
It also might very well be the ONLY pastel cheetah.   I.  Ever.  Paint.
...Ever.
(OMG, those spots! I don't know how all those wildlife artists do it!)
My favorite part was the reflected light under the chin.
Enjoy this quick GIF and the attached progress photos I dug up from my files.
An alphabet series is a great way to break yourself out of a rut! This worked for me, as evidenced by the fact that I dropped it at "T is for Tiger" (..which I'll post soon!) One of these years I might continue the series and get it done!
What things have you done to get out of a creative rut?

Wimby Kitty

"Wimby Kitty" (pastel, 8x8 inches)

Here's Wimby Kitty, the adorable little cat from last month's VOS Episode 80! Subscribe to my Patreon to watch the full video with commentary here!

Wimby is a friend of CallieCal, another black and white kitty I painted a while back. They look very similar but are no relations.

See a quick speed video here!

Callie Cat

 

"Callie Cat" pastel, 8x8 inches

 One of my commission catch-ups for July, this sweet little kitty is a posthumous portrait for a friend of a client.

Click here to watch a short speed video of Callie Cat's painting process.

 Or, subscribe to my Patreon to watch the full painting process with commentary!

Day 24 of 30 - Waiting

 

Day 24 of 30 paintings in June - "Waiting" (pastel, 10x8 inches)

This is another painting of Argie, the same cat shown in "Elegance", which I posted last week.

Coming up soon, July 3 and 4, spend your holiday weekend at the #rockportartfest hosted by @rockportartcenter and catch some great art, including "Waiting"!

See some progress pictures of "Waiting" here.

$420, price includes frame and US shipping.

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And in case you missed this message earlier...
 
The Feedburner team announced that their email subscription service will be discontinued in July 2021. As a result, Blogger’s email subscription widget, also known as FollowByEmail, will be turned off. Specifically, the email subscription system will no longer work and subscribers to Google blogs will no longer receive email updates.
 
SO! If you're receiving this post via email, I thank you for your subscription, but you will no longer be getting these delivered to you from my Google Blog after this month.  
 
But don't despair! Here are two ways you can still get my (almost) Daily Paintings in your inbox!
 
#1 - Sign up for my website's New Art Alerts. I basically have been pasting the same info into my website art posts as I do here, so you won't be missing a thing. CLICK HERE to get my New Art Alerts from my website at RitaKirkman.com.
 
#2 - Follow my public Patreon Posts. Sure, Patreon is a subscription-based creative support platform, but you don't have to pay anything for my public posts, and just about all of my new work gets posted on my Patreon page, usually with cool little extras like progress pics or short speed videos! CLICK HERE to go to my Patreon Page and right below the membership levels, next to a button that says "share" is a button that says "follow". It's that easy! (Browse around my other free posts while you're in there..)
 
Thanks so much for liking my work and following my blog. Here's to many more years of following my Website or my Patreon, and to many more years of creating!

 

Day 23 of 30 - Green Eye

Day 23 of 30 paintings in June - "Green Eye" (pastel, 8x8 inches) on hold

I think I might enter this one into an exhibit. Don't know which yet but there are a few deadlines coming up. It feels good to have something good ready to go and not have to rush to finish something for at least one deadline. 

I'm starting to give more thought to continuing my Daily Painting through the summer. But I do believe I'll take a break for the Rockport Art Fest!

See a GIF of the painting process here!

---------------

And in case you missed this message earlier...
 
The Feedburner team announced that their email subscription service will be discontinued in July 2021. As a result, Blogger’s email subscription widget, also known as FollowByEmail, will be turned off. Specifically, the email subscription system will no longer work and subscribers to Google blogs will no longer receive email updates.
 
SO! If you're receiving this post via email, I thank you for your subscription, but you will no longer be getting these delivered to you from my Google Blog after this month.  
 
But don't despair! Here are two ways you can still get my (almost) Daily Paintings in your inbox!
 
#1 - Sign up for my website's New Art Alerts. I basically have been pasting the same info into my website art posts as I do here, so you won't be missing a thing. CLICK HERE to get my New Art Alerts from my website at RitaKirkman.com.
 
#2 - Follow my public Patreon Posts. Sure, Patreon is a subscription-based creative support platform, but you don't have to pay anything for my public posts, and just about all of my new work gets posted on my Patreon page, usually with cool little extras like progress pics or short speed videos! CLICK HERE to go to my Patreon Page and right below the membership levels, next to a button that says "share" is a button that says "follow". It's that easy! (Browse around my other free posts while you're in there..)
 
Thanks so much for liking my work and following my blog. Here's to many more years of following my Website or my Patreon, and to many more years of creating!

Day 14 of 30 - Elegance

 

Day 14 of 30 paintings in June - "Elegance" (pastel, 12x6 inches)

I may be entering this one into a show. I don't know yet. Or I may have already done. I've been drafting so many of these posts in advance while I paint new paintings that I'm loosing track of days! 😅

Click here to see a GIF and some progress pictures!

"Purrball" (Warm Fuzzy #51)

 

Warm Fuzzy #51 - "Purrball" (pastel, 5x4 inches) $250 framed Buy here

This was my final demo of the MidAmerica Pastel Society workshop last month. He was one of 4 underpaintings I demoed that Saturday morning, but did not have time to pastel Saturday afternoon, so I finished him off Sunday afternoon instead. I think I was well warmed up by then, because I like how fresh he turned out! I'm especially happy with the lost edges - something I still struggle with most times.

The cat is a sweetie I met in Michigan who lived with the hosts I stayed with for the Ann Arbor Street Art Fair a few years ago. They cautioned me "He bites!" That was true, but he was also a lovey purr ball! I think he just couldn't understand why I wouldn't bite him back... it was all playtime to him!

Here he is on the bathroom sink, my reference photo for the painting:

...and "Purrball" framed:

"Mewler in Profile" (Warm Fuzzy #50)

 

Warm Fuzzy #50 - "Mewler in Profile" (pastel, 6x6 inches) $285 framed (buy here)

My latest little portrait of our lovely Mewler kitty! He's such a good model. This was my demo for the Central Texas Pastel Society on Saturday. It went pretty smoothly; I love it when that happens. Then I was able to get right into the house and crop and format this little speed demo from the video I took... all before dinner time! I'm getting better at this!

The 3 minute speed video, hope you enjoy it!...

 

Here's how he looks in the frame:

 

Warm Fuzzy #25 - Argie on Satin Sheets

Warm Fuzzy #25 - "Argie on Satin Sheets" (pastel, 10x10 inches) click here to bid or buy

My first formal portrait of Argie by himself! Argie is Mewler's half-brother and best friend, six months younger. (Here they are together in "Besties")

Enjoy these progress pics...

 I slowly made the eyes yellow by cooling down the rest of the painting ;)

 I always end up with a hand full. For Argie's silvery coat and the indirect light, these colors were more subdued than my usual pallette. ("Argie" is short for Argentum which means silver in Latin, although technically his coat color is called lavender...)

Thanks for watching! Please share!

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Warm Fuzzy #22 - Mewler in the Light

Warm Fuzzy #22 - "Mewler in the Light" (pastel, 6x4 inches) click here to bid or buy

Our cats are so photogenic, I have hundreds of really nice pics to choose from of Mewler, and Argie too. One of these years I'll paint one that we will keep, but these days I'll sell just about anything!

Thanks for watching! Please share!

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Besties

"Besties" (pastel, 11x16 inches)(28x40cm) $850 framed

Well, I've never been so busy now that I have "nothing" to do. Ha! I've been looking forward to playing with my new prize pastels from my last two wins ("Persephone" and "Intent") and excited that this forced home-bound situation would give me more studio time! But what have I been doing instead?

Our Carriage House Gallery in Boerne has temporarily closed but we've all been cramming the last few days to get our artwork up into the new Sale and Gift Store pages of our newly revamped website, and to get the site optimized for online sales. Check it out! 😃

Yesterday I helped move my daughter out of her university housing, and into our guest room (she prefers the quiet on that side of the house.. 🙄) so our living room is currently full of extraneous furniture and closet junk mixed in with all the usual cat toys.

And now with all of this sorting and moving, I've been bit by the "organizational bug" and really want to tackle my office... and I know from experience if I don't strike while the fever is on me (no pun intended!) it will just get worse until another year has gone by...

However - the cancellation of the Australian Pastel Expo has had at least one good outcome - now I have the two paintings I did for the Tutor's Exhibition that I can post for sale immediately! This is one of them. My darling cats, best buds in their bed.

Mewler came home to us six months before Argie, and would not stop crying until Argie arrived. He was so happy we brought him a friend! They soon became best buddies.

This painting was inspired by a photo I caught straight down on the two of them snuggled in their bed, morning light from the nearby window casting a warm glow. The image is actually upside down from how I snapped the photo.

I started with a warm-toned underpainting using Art Spectrum primers and inks to establish the range of values and some underlying texture.

Stay safe, keep calm and wash your hands.
Thanks for reading. Please share!

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Intent - New Award!

"Intent" (pastel, 6x6 inches) sold

I'm very happy to say that my little portrait of Mewler won Second In Show at the Austin Pastel Society 2020 Annual Juried Member Exhibition 'Celebrating Pastels!'

This was one of my little daily paintings from my 31-in-31 challenge in January. I usually put out some better work after having painted for several days. I just have to remember that right now when I have several days ahead of me and somehow I'm STILL allowing myself to get distracted by other things...

..But I'm preparing! Stay tuned for new art!

Meanwhile, although we had made the decision to cancel the APS Celebrating Pastels! reception, the show is still hanging at the Austin Art and Frame Gallery on Bee Caves Rd in Austin, and also Online HERE! 

You can vote online (or in person at the gallery) for your favorite for the Janis Langley People's Choice Award. Take the link and browse the artwork. Click on your favorite for a voting link!


(PS: See some process pics of Intent on the original blog post here.)

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Day 13 - Intent

"Intent" (pastel, 6x6 inches)

Day 13 of my 31-in-31 of Januuary!

Another of our Mewler, as he was coming in from their outdoor enclosure. The light was amazing, bouncing all over the place!

I believe I might enter this into a show.