Sunday, March 01, 2009

Fiona, Olive & Abe Portrait Case Study & Illustration Friday: Breezy

This is my most recent portrait, and it is also fitting for Illustration Friday this week: Fiona, Olive and Abe are in front of a BREEZY blossoming tree

I've completed Fiona, Olive and Abe's portrait! I would like to share the process with you and explain how several specific personal items made their way into this portrait.

A little about the pets
Fiona and Olive are the two kitties front and center. (Fiona is the Alpha cat -- there is a tiny Queen Bee in a branch of the blossoming tree above her to symbolize this). Abe is their hedgehog 'sibling'.



Please click on the images to enlarge and read the details about each different item in the portrait!!



Artist's notes

I think this may be the most actual colors I've ever used in a portrait. There is a lot of different colors and patterns happening. I was not sure how things would come together until I started painting Olive's cushion. It was a game changer - brought in more colors to the piece but I took it as an opportunity to tie the piece together in a more deliberate way with the color choices I made. While I was painting this piece I was really wishing I had a video camera on my work so I could go "Bob Ross" on you. There were so many decisions I was making that I wished I could explain, so many tips and tricks I wanted to share. Oh well, I will have to try and figure out some way to bring you a You Tube mini painting demo sometime. That would be a blast and bring you more into my process.


Enjoy!

See every stage of this portrait:
Compositional Thumbnails Final Pencil SketchInk drawing In ProgressFinal Ink drawingPartial painting

17 comments:

Archie and Melissa said...

hi kathy!
oh i love it and tank you for sharing the details of creating it. i love how you did that. you are so creative in everything that you do.

your blog looks great! i love the new colors and fonts.

melissa

Fraske Designs said...

hi kathy! so funny i just decided to start doing IF again and i think we just posted at the same time... so cool another BHer is doing this!

Unknown said...

Melissa -- Thanks so much!! I like to share the details. I used to create/post Case Studies on my pet portrait web site but honestly, my blog seems like the best venue to do that!

Allison - We must be in sync!!! I love your paper airplane :) so cute, so fun!

studio lolo said...

This is absolutely my favorite of yours!! What lucky clients!

The cats are beautiful. I loved how you took photos of the elements of the painting for us. This is great Kathy!

Tessa said...

How brilliant to be able to take a peek 'behind the scene'! What a wonderful, evocative illustration.

artpaw said...

Great process notes girl. People have no idea how long this extra step to share takes... making the detail thumbs, writing the descriptions and so on. Good job. Your work is so intricate that pointing out these little parts helps us take it all in. I love ABE!!!!

Ginger*:) said...

AMAZING! I love little Abe. The journey through this painting was so much fun.

Unknown said...

Lolo - Thanks so much!! What a nice thing to hear!!

Rebecca - Yes, so true. It takes awhile to put it all together!

Tessa! Thanks a lot! I used to do Case Studies on my pet portrait site but I am utilizing my blog for that now. If you would like to see some past Case Studies, you can find them here:

http://www.wellerwishes.com/portraituregalle.html

Hope you like them! :)

Ginger, Rebecca - Abe loves YOU, TOO :) :)

Anonymous said...

What a wonderful and original concept, work, process and post! I really enjoyed it all!

carla said...

Absolutely wonderful!!! I love their regal cat expressions, and I love the lush surroundings! What a beautiful portrait:) carla

Unknown said...

I love it! What great portraits and the addition of Abe was genious.

Anonymous said...

what a fun and creative post and I love the illustration of the cats...they look so realistic. I will get back to you soon...I am extremely busy with this Christmas line right now...so stay tuned.

wonderful!

carol

Mônica said...

This is absolutely terrific, Kathy! Not only your amazing illustration, but the careful and detailed step by step look at your process. Thank you! :-)

theartofpuro said...

wonderful illustration,great concept and great expressions,love it

Unknown said...

Thanks everyone!! :)

I plan to do more of these Case Studies. This one worked out well and I really enjoy sharing the process with you.

I'm going to investigate how to do video demos as well -- that would be lots of fun and give you a deeper look into the painting process.

Anonymous said...

kathy! you left a nice comment on my blog, which reminded me to come on over and see what you've been up to lately... omg... your work is so incredible, it literally gives me goose bumps! you really set that bar high... which inspires on some days, and has me considering changing professions on others ;)

i could study this sweet detailed portrait for hours... amazing! a master's hand at work!

Roberta said...

I love it when an artist explains their thoughts and the process...this is wonderful!