Bonnie in a Blanket

"Bonnie in a Blanket," Acrylic on 12 x 12 canvas

On the first day of my painting class this past January, I knew next to nothing about acrylic paints.  I wasn't sure what "medium" or "gel" or "gesso" even was, let alone when I should use them.  I went to the library and checked out Gill Barron's Acrylic Secrets.  I read fervently, finishing it all in one sitting.  One sample painting really piqued my interest.  It was a painting of a tabby cat by Karen Mathison Schmidt.

Painting by Karen Mathison Schmidt, featured in Acrylic Secrets

Now this painting worked from a photo and really capitalized on color, making a cat far more vibrant and colorful than the original.  The artist used an umber underpainting, and then glazed over it with various colors.

I knew already that I wanted to paint a portrait of my mom's tabby cat, Bonnie, and when I saw this painting, I had to try this technique.  However, I decided to use a photorealism approach.

My mom had sent me this photo of Bonnie, nestled in a red and gray afghan blanket she was crocheting for my son's Christmas present.

Photograph of Bonnie

I knew this was just the right inspiration for my painting.  This photograph had a lot of potential to play with warm and cold colors, in particular.  I wanted to really emphasize the contrast between the gray and brilliant red, the warmness of Bonnie's features, and her bright, "up to something" eyes.   I wanted to use the golden ratio to help plan my focal point, to ensure that Bonnie's eyes were the focus of the work.  I would use the folds of the blanket to further assist me with this task. 

The first thing I did was crop the photo.  I knew that I wanted my Bonnie painting to fit a square canvas.  I wanted the painting to be square, but I did not want my whiskers cut off.  Additionally, I felt the blanket was important in the piece.  It was so special; my mom made it!  So, I decided to use the cropped photo as a basis to work from and draw in the rest of the blanket, extending parts of the blanket and Bonnie that are not in the photo.

Bonnie, cropped and black and white

I filtered the photo in black and white, because I wanted to pay special attention to tonal values.  I toned my ground in a light green  underpaint, because  I wanted  the  red of the blanket and red tones  in Miss Bonnie to be all the more bright.  I sketched the cat directly onto my canvas and completed an umber monochromatic underpainting.

My monochromatic underpainting

I was ready to begin glazing!  I created my gray from several layers of cadmium orange and cobalt blue, a little light blue, a touch of iridescent silver and a couple neutral gray coats.  My red was derived of several layers of cadmium reds, cadmium orange, hansa yellow to brighten it up, and alizarin crimson.  The glazes I used for my cat include cobalt blue, hansa yellow, cadmium orange, quinacridone  / nickel azo gold, burnt sienna, unbleached titanium, titanium white and just a touch of carbon black mixed with umber.  I wanted my colors to really be rich and beautiful.  While I wanted to stay true to the photo, I believe that the colors used in paintings should be more vibrant than real life.  Why else should we dream in color?

After a few layers of glaze

After interminable hours of glazing (all the while rotating between my Loreena McKennitt Pandora station and the true crime podcast, Someone Knows Something), I found that my painting was almost ready.  I added fine detail to the face- for example, a cobalt blue twinkle to the pupils- and then a coat of gloss varnish.  I used a calligraphy pen to draw fine whiskers once the varnish was dry and finished the project with two coats of satin varnish.

This painting is a gift to celebrate Mother's Day.  For me, the cat represents my mother's sweet and nurturing nature, as well as her compassion and love for animals (a love has carried over from her children to her grandchildren, and no doubt, will continue for generations to come).  The blanket represents her craftiness, creativity, attention to detail, and love for her family.  I will be shipping it out today.  I certainly hope she enjoys it as much as I enjoyed painting it!