Fur In The Paint

This month in the gallery, it has been uncharacteristically busy for a February. This is a good thing. (A really good thing.) But it has left me very little time for painting. I did manage to finish up my Earthmovers painting today. Whoohoo! I will post it, just a soon as it gets scanned for the print making process.

Last week, I had some small snippets of time in which I wanted to create. But, I was pretty sure I wouldn’t have enough time to offer my full attention to the Earthmovers piece. So I decided to do a small, brightly colored painting of Budda. My creativity muse was seemingly out sick that day. So I decided to try something that I had been planning on doing for years, but just never got around to trying. That is, taking some photos and playing around with them in Photoshop.

Original Photo
This first photo is an untouched image.

The following photos only had minor adjustments. It wasn’t so much that I wanted something to copy. As it was, a desire to spark a new way of looking at the image.

Increased Saturation
When I printed this out, I thought…”Well thats interesting, but it really doesn’t do me any good.” And I tossed it aside.

The next day I had my art group, so I took the painting along with me to work on, while we all sat around and talked. I also took the original photos (not the Photoshop’d versions) for my reference. It wasn’t until I got home that, (to my complete surprise) I noticed how much my finished painting resembled the color saturated image. Apparently on some level, I had soaked it in. (osmosis perhaps?)

Posterised
I don’t think I used this posterised image at all. (not even by osmosis.) But I included it, as one of the two adjustments that I did. I really like the look that posterising creates and may try it again on another project.

Cropped and Rotated
This photo has not been digitally manipulated and was my main reference image. It was cropped and the image was rotated by about 45 degrees. (I did this by hand, by laying strips of white paper over the photo until I got a composition that I liked. No computers necessary.) I really wanted to keep it a small, easy, and fun painting. So I elimated all the extras in the background and simplified the whole thing with cropping.

Bright Eyes - Oil Pastel 8×8
Copyright by Mona Majorowicz

Finished Painting
It is quite a bit darker here than in real life. But you get the idea. The painting’s greens. blues and purples are quite vibrant, and is actually what makes the painting. This isn’t great art. But it was a good way to loosen up a bit and have fun with color.

Budda’s two week “trial” period is over as of today. Mike kinda rolls his eyes at the “trial period ” part. Like, after day one I would ever just toss him out into the cold. He has come through with flying colors, with the exception of one time pottying not in the potty box. Since he is my second cat I am unsure how common this might be. It was early on and it was the first time we spent all afternoon out of the room containing his litter pan. Other than that one time he has been faithful to use his box.

He seems to be a fast learner. He had picked up what “No” meant almost immediately. He doesn’t challenge my authority as much as Oliver did, which is kind of nice. Ollie would do the naughty thing, (say… bite into a shrinkwrapped print) I’d say Ollie NO! He’d stop look at me, then open his mouth and put it over the print in very slow motion, as if to bite. All the while making eye contact with me. I’d say Ollie? And he’d MEOW loudly and stalk off, tail switching in annoyance. I say Budda No! And he just makes a little mew, stares at me wide eyed and innocently and then saunters over for cuddles. That being said, as every day passes he seems to be getting a little more Ollie like.

And now for the amazing Budda!
Last week, I was throwing a mousy toy and he would return to me with it. Now, I am sure to start out with this was just because he is really attached to me and planned to play with it, by me. But I would keep throwing it and he would keep bringing it back. Now 5-10 times might be a fluke but he retrieved it almost 30 times, at that point I got tired of the game. (I tried to take photos to illustrate, but oddly enough they just look like a cat carrying a toy. Somehow the amazing part is lost in the pictures.) Anywho, by the next day he was dropping the mousey in my hand. Such a clever, clever kitty. (See, I told you I’d be bragging about how bright he is.)

This is day 3 of having my little kitten at the gallery. He is slowly adjusting to the lack of siblings. I broke out my camera to take a few snaps this afternoon as he was thinking about napping.

Budda shares the same lineage as Oliver. (Notice the family resemblance?) Budda’s grandmother was Ollie’s mom. They do look quite a bit alike. I really wanted a cat that was considerably different looking than Ollie but as you may have noticed from the hellcats photos, my color choices were somewhat limited. Turns out, it doesn’t matter. When I look at Budda, I think of Budda … not Ollie.

I am smiling again. I discovered, kittens are a huge mood lifter. (who knew?) I think next time I get cranky or tired I will just prescribe more kittens, continue to add as needed. (Kidding, just kidding. One is plenty)
Thats about it. I’m sure I’ll be shoving kittens photos into this blog quite often. You will be so sick of looking at Budda’s kitten pictures. But hey, I am a proud new mommy. Just wait. Pretty soon I’ll start bragging about how smart he is, especially compared to other peoples kittens.

It was gorgeous today. The temps reached over 40 and the winds were calm. Unbelievable for January. (brings to mind the global warming thing though.) Since it is Sunday, it is kind of a lazy day. I did go for a long walk. (just lovely) Then came in to the gallery to begin a new work.

I started drawing the new painting that I have been wanting to do for some time. I will talk more about it when I post a picture of it later. (I know, I know. I promised to post the flamingo and then trashed it before ever getting it onto the blog. But this time I promise I will post a photo no matter what. Cross my heart.)

The other new beginning is, I brought in one of my little hellcats to the gallery. It was just too empty without something small and furry running around. (My husband doesn’t count since he’s big and furry) I chose the most laid back of the group. Meaning the only one who doesn’t bite or scratch excessively. Also he’s a cuddler. (big time) He is still on a trial basis, but I think he will do fine. He is a little stressed being the only cat here, since he has had his 3 siblings and mom for company his total known existence. But I think he’ll adjust. So far we have been playing a lot of Marco Polo. All he has to do is face away from me and he thinks he is all alone and starts the yowling his head off.

His name is Little Budda. (I left the H out so hopefully I won’t confuse those googling for enlightenment.) I started calling him this quite awhile ago because he has a tendency to stand up on his hind feet then just plunk down in the sitting position while still being upright. And so his little round tummy sticks out like a buddha belly. I may change the name once I’m sure he is staying. But I do kinda like it.

Thanks to all those who sent me sympathy notes over Oliver. It has all really meant so much to me.