A Bleeding Heart, framed

I spent most of the day framing A Bleeding Heart for Ona. Had a bit of a disaster and wrote off two full sheets of conservation grade mat board. That's a lesson learnt the hard way! Still, the final result looks great and it's all ready to ship off to the PWS in a week or two.

The Guardian of Ra

This was a fun exercise and hopefully will make a popular card design. Its nice pushing the boundaries and trying something new. I hadn't tried such a high key painting before but it seemed so appropriate to show a cat capturing the glow of the sun in her eyes.

You will have to imagine that the paper is white. Unfortunately the camera did not want to play today.

I am also still working on the background water effect for my self portrait. I have finished the wave section and am working on the water above her head. I will post my progress on this once I have finished the water completely.

Ona

The Guardian of Ra WIP 1

I'm still experimenting with different ideas for the water section of the self portrait so while I am deciding which approach to use I thought I would begin the other painting that I have drawn out.

I had the idea for this painting when I was sat outside a couple weeks ago in the sunshine and a beautiful white cat came over to say hi. Looking at her in the sun she almost seemed to merge into the brightness of the sky behind her as, facing the sun and capturing the light in her eyes she basked in the sunshine. It made me think about the Ancient Egyptian beliefs.

The Ancient Egyptians believed that cats captured the glow of the sun in their eyes and kept it's power safe during the hours of darkness.

They believed that at sunset, Ra, the sun god, would die and descend through the underworld in the west, to be born again in the east, at sunrise. During the night, however,they believed that Ra was in great danger, as his enemies, headed by the great serpent Apophis would not hesitate to attack him, thus putting the whole universe in danger. They believed that cats who looked into the sun in the day would keep its rays in their eyes throughout the night until the next glow of light lit the sky, for they have eyes that reflect in the dark. With that fire burning in their eyes, they would go forth and kill the serpents of the night and keep Ra safe until morning.

I just had to convey this idea in a painting and... well you know me... i just can't resist painting eyes... I LOVE them.

You will have to imagine that the rather grey paper is white. I couldn't get a good photo  in the lighting conditions I have at the moment. Its grey and overcast and I think we are about to have a storm.  I wanted to experiment 'high key' style and maintain as much of the white paper as I could, minimally suggesting the cats outline while really focusing in on her eyes.. I have now painted both eyes and suggested her nose and mouth. I am starting to add in suggestions of her fur in the shady areas. I have a lot more of this to do on the shady side. Her whiskers on this side will be the white of the paper. They are just masked at the moment to help me preserve the white while I complete the fur.

I will be working on both this painting and the self portrait over the next couple of weeks and will post updates on both as I progess. I really enjoy your company as I paint and love reading all your comments  whether you write them by e mail, on facebook or as a comment on this blog.

Ona