Black cats, like white cats, have all sorts of colors in their fur, and in the day's filtered sunlight their fur glistened with all sorts of highlights and shadows. The randomly shaped and wrinkled red blanket heightened the range of colors in their fur and even the neutral wood floor held random combinations in its old unfinished grain. Mostly, the composition was what attracted me in the first place: two similar heavy rounded shapes, the random soft shape and the smooth shape brought elements together in a very pleasing way.
I think cats are very aware of how they can create beautiful compositions simply by being in them.
MATTED AND FRAMED
This sketch is larger than usual, 12" wide x 8" high, and is actually a little more than a sketch as well. I've called it a painting because I began with an ink drawing and ended up adding watercolor washes. It's painted on acid-free textured 90 lb. watercolor paper, matted with 3" warm tan black core matboard (the color exactly matches one of the warm tans in the floor) and framed in a 1" matte black 14" x 18" wood frame. The backing is acid-free foam core and the glass is premium clear glass.
DAILY SKETCHES
I endeavor to do at least a small sketch each day as a warm-up to my aesthetic senses, so I have a small pouch of art materials and a few various sized sketchbooks available in the house and out. Usually, these are done in pencil, my first and favorite medium, though sometimes it's charcoal, ink, colored pencil, ink and brush, whatever strikes my fancy at the moment, the greatest challenge to keep it quick and not get caught up in details, let the idea flow onto the paper.
Most often, the subjects are my cats because they are such willing models, though sometimes I'll also wander afield, literally, and sketch in my yard or anywhere I go for errands. Medium and especially style vary just so I get a chance to do something new.
Every once in a while, they are meant for framing, and I've designed a series of notecards, notepaper and notepads using other daily sketches (see my notecards section). Often I use them as illustrations for graphics projects I'm designing.
Have any questions?
Contact the shop owner.
