Progressing with Watercolor, albeit slowly...

On the easel, "Lily," our neighbor's gorgeous cat. She always looks like she belongs on a throne!

I went back to working on the "Alpaca" - used a Mr. Clean sponge to soften the fur coat.

"Clyde," my girlfriend's cat, lounging around - not quite done, I think... some finishing touches needed.

Below: the evolution of "Lily."

"Lily" is a practice painting for a full-body painting. She has such poise and a strong personality. I want to make sure to capture some of who she is, not just what she looks like!

Getting Back to Watercolor - ever so slowly......

First up, cats. Then farm animals... and finally I want to try portraits of children.

Courage is a tad on the shy side when it comes time to actually begin working in an old media after being away for some time. I was surprised at how fearful I was just doing these drawings in prep for the actual watercolor paintings! I guess I've been away for way too long, sitting at the sewing machine or at the computer. My drawing skills certainly need refining, but they have improved in the short time I've been back working at it again.

Above is our son's family cat, "Hairy." Below is my drawing of the basic shapes.

Then a more detailed drawing.

And there's this delightful kitten from a photo by my great-neice, plus a few others.

Most of these drawings were simply practice for doing the final drawing on watercolor paper. Watercolor papers are very expensive, so I want to be sure of my shapes, composition, and accuracy before putting anything on the wc paper! Yes, I can erase the wc paper, but I'd rather not. Watercolors are absorbed into the fibers of the papers so I don't want anything between the paint/water and the paper.

Wish me luck as I go forward!