...in the wind ...

... in the wind ...

Sad, yes, but true nonetheless...our loving, adopted cat of eight years has passed away leaving a nice little slice on my heart and some very special memories in her absence.

We actually adopted each other.

Only after her trust for me grew to a level in which she knew without a doubt that she was completely safe around me, did she decide to accept our invitation to come inside our home. She had previously met our other cat (also adopted) through the window screen most every night for a little more than a year. Meeting in this way most assuredly eased the transition into sisterhood for both of them. Sure they'd squabble from time to time but who doesn't. They got along famously and each knew her place in the spectrum of things. Eight wonderful years which ended way too soon if ya ask me, but God had other plans for this little cat's spirit. All that was left to do was to be thankful for the time we'd been allowed to share.

Sounds kinda sappy huh? Maybe so, but who's to say that we all won't be reunited in another place at another time.

O.K. now onto the creation of the painting.

I only had three photographs of this feral little feline family member. On the left is the one I thought had some compositional possibilities, so I decided to work with it.

I actually had a 18x24 stretched canvas which had been painted with Black Gesso. I'd forgotten what I'd planned on using it for and figured that now was apparently the moment to see what magic I could manage to pull from within this Black Canvas. I thought it'd make things easier; beginning this painting on a canvas which had been previously tinted with a dark value.

For this piece I drew the subject on the canvas with colored pencil.

Once I was happy with the placement and general guidelines, I applied some fixative to keep the lines from smudging.

Now I'd be able to get started with paint.

Here I've got the distant background pretty much finished. The foreground can now be blocked in. I find it easier to work from the background and move forward. The subject matter is much more "in your face" if I've first completed at least 3/4 of the surrounding composition before beginning to tackle the main subject.

I'm using an oval matt, from another painting I'd completed a while back, to check if I'm staying within the guidelines that were originally drawn. I see I was a bit off center with my initial ideas and kinda got carried away for a while with some other ideas While I enjoyed what took shape, I still want to stay with an oval composition instead of the everyday rectangular canvas. I'll save the idea(s) which now will end up being covered by the matt, for a future painting perhaps.

I also feel that a lighter shade of purple may be a wise choice for the matt color when it comes time to decide on final framing options, but will cross that bridge a little later.

The foreground foliage is blocked in along with the illusion of some small flowers and a path. I've also begun working on her fur and will add some more detail to the middleground flowers and grasses before continuing with and completing the cat.Background,Middleground,Foreground.

It's getting there and should be done in about a week if life doesn't keep barging in my way.

I'll post photos of the finished painting as soon as possible.

~ Thanks for following along as I detailed some of the aspects that took place throughout the creative process of this memorial keepsake of my furry family member. She will be sorely missed.

If you have a Dog or cat, bird or other exotic pet that is dear to your heart a memorial portrait could be a nice way for you to pay tribute to your loved one forever.

I've still gotta add a few more highlights and other details but wanted you to see how it looks up close with the oval matt in place.

I just can't seem to leave well enough alone. I've now decided that covering up the background foliage was just not gonna cut it for me, I have to show it, but will try to do so without relieving the cat of her center-of-interest duties.