Well, here are my "cats in bed" from lesson one in "Drawing Lab". You are supposed to draw them while your resting the paper on a pillow, mattress, or something soft so you have less control over the lines. Obviously I had not much control over the lines. The assignment was to draw 30 or so cats and since I drew a few pages with my non-dominant hand (those are way freaky), I ended up with some pretty goofy looking cats. The page on top is actually the best of the bunch, I think, the rest get progressively scarier.
Then you are supposed to chose a favorite (which is a challenge considering they are all a mess AND I discovered that drawing cats is NOT AT ALL interesting to me) and render it in another media. I was really bored with cats by the time I finished my drawing in bed assignment and needed a way to make my alternate media cat exciting enough for me to be willing to finish it. Then I thought, "I wonder what would happen if I applied some of the techniques I used in my Liesel Lund flower tutorial to this cat...hmmm....well, let's find out". As my art teacher used to remind me, "It's just a piece of paper, what's the worst thing that could happen." (Of course, I would usually smartly respond that a $10 piece of watercolor paper is NOT JUST paper, it's $10! Oh, how she must of loved me.) Oh, how surprised she would be to see me painting this cat:
Whoa! This is one freaky cat. My husband thinks it's kinda cool. He tells me that someone is going to relate to that cat. I'm not so sure, but I do know that it made my cat assignment MUCH more exciting. It kind of reminds me of something else my art teacher used to say to me when I was painting "too tightly" (which was most of the time), "You just need to go out and get drunk before you start painting", which is a problem for me considering I don't drink, but looking at this cat some might wonder about that. But nope! Completely sober.
Then you are supposed to chose a favorite (which is a challenge considering they are all a mess AND I discovered that drawing cats is NOT AT ALL interesting to me) and render it in another media. I was really bored with cats by the time I finished my drawing in bed assignment and needed a way to make my alternate media cat exciting enough for me to be willing to finish it. Then I thought, "I wonder what would happen if I applied some of the techniques I used in my Liesel Lund flower tutorial to this cat...hmmm....well, let's find out". As my art teacher used to remind me, "It's just a piece of paper, what's the worst thing that could happen." (Of course, I would usually smartly respond that a $10 piece of watercolor paper is NOT JUST paper, it's $10! Oh, how she must of loved me.) Oh, how surprised she would be to see me painting this cat:
Whoa! This is one freaky cat. My husband thinks it's kinda cool. He tells me that someone is going to relate to that cat. I'm not so sure, but I do know that it made my cat assignment MUCH more exciting. It kind of reminds me of something else my art teacher used to say to me when I was painting "too tightly" (which was most of the time), "You just need to go out and get drunk before you start painting", which is a problem for me considering I don't drink, but looking at this cat some might wonder about that. But nope! Completely sober.
This cat is totally awesome, not freaky at all, in fact it is quite a work of art. I have drawn 1/2 the cats and I don't like any of mine, but I imagine I should keep going. I printed out a flower pic to try Liesel's technique but alas have not taken the time to do it yet. Your results are just fab. I've been reading Creative Wildfire and loving it.
ReplyDeleteLove, love, love the cat (and I am not a cat lover)! This cat evokes a feeling in the viewer. Can't explain it--I just feel something when I look at it. Your cat has penetrating eyes that makes me feel like he/she can read me like a book! (or a mouse) :=)
ReplyDeleteLove your freaky cat! I feel as though I know him.
ReplyDeleteI think your "pillow" cats are fabulous. And I can't imagine doing anything with my non-dominant hand!
The cat rocks.
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