Meet Pandora, a beautiful silver Maine Coon Cat, or @Pandafur as she is known on Twitter. Pandafur is a very special Twitter friend of my spokescat, Brewskie Butt (@Brewskiebutt). Pandafur’s person commissioned her pet portrait after getting to know us on Twitter and seeing my artwork online. What a special treat to paint such a glamorous animal!
If you read Pandafur’s blog (which you should!), you will see this and many other pictures of her. In this one, she is posing with her Plague Rat, a toy made in the UK, which is the greatest sensation among cats on Twitter. Panda has this bright pink comforter in many of her pictures, so I wanted to include that color in her portrait.
My first step in creating Pandafur’s pet portrait was to make a sketch, using Photoshop and some pure old fashioned drawing.
Next, I began blocking in colors on a black canvas. As you can see, the colors are far from what is seen in the final image. This is purposeful. Using various colors layered on top of each other adds unique visual texture and light effects that create vivid and rich coloration in the painting.
The painting process of layering different colors on top of each other continued. In-process pictures were posted on Twitter for those who like to follow my process as it occurs. Folks seem to enjoy watching the process as the image develops.
Finally, the portrait was finished! Pandafur and her person, who followed the development of the painting on Twitter, were very pleased. Since they have experienced a flood in their home as a result of a washing machine hose break, I am very happy that they will soon be receiving something new to celebrate in their home! Pandafur’s pet portrait will be shipped to them this week, and they should receive it at about the time that the flood clean-up is finished!
It was a great adventure painting Pandafur! The next adventure? A painting of a young boy and his cat, commissioned as a gift by his loving grandmother. Since it is a surprise gift, I won’t be able to post pictures until the boy has received it. I will be working on other pictures simultaneously, however…
Life is an Adventure!
Would you like a custom pet portrait of your pet? BZTAT will paint your animal for a very reasonable price. For information, email her at bztat@artadventuresstudios.com.
Follow works in progress by BZTAT on Twitter by searching #bztatptg.
Art Adventures Studios, located in downtown Canton, OH near Second April Galerie and the historic Onesto Hotel.