Friday, March 29, 2024
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Daily Sketch: A Dozen Shades of Gray

pastel silhouette of cat
Shape, gray shades of pastels © B.E. Kazmarski

I love, love, Jelly Bean’s shape. He’s not fat, he’s not even too round, but somehow when he sits in certain positions I just want to pick him up he looks so pleasingly rounded.

In this case he was simply sitting on the table in front of the window looking out. Very little direct sun was shining on him, but it was shining around him, so he was almost in silhouette and just a few swatches of direct light, but a lot of reflected light, described his shape.

I have a set of 12 gray pastels and decided to work with them for this after yesterday’s sketch when the white charcoal just would not sketch boldly enough. I also thought I’d jump on the “Shades of Gray” bandwagon. Everyone is using that phrase now.

My scanner over-scanned this, and I scanned it several times to see if I could change how it came up. All those little white specs are not actually there in my sketch, but they are thin areas in the pastel. When the scanner light shines on something that’s not quite opaque, it will shine right through it depending on its opacity, and so it did here. I find the little dots irritating because I worked hard to work them out of the sketch. But it think the relevant details are still visible.

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Bernadette

From health and welfare to rescue and adoption stories, advocacy and art, factual articles and fictional stories, "The Creative Cat" offers both visual and verbal education and entertainment about cats for people who love cats, pets and animals of all species.

11 thoughts on “Daily Sketch: A Dozen Shades of Gray

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  • I also LOVE this one! I know what you mean about loving his shape even though he’s not fat. Austin has a way of sitting that is so cuddleable (is that a word?) lol BTW that could be Austin from the back 🙂

    Reply
    • Oh and meant to say, I agree with you and think the Queen has missed a trick with not having kitties. I think she’s the only one in her family who actually likes corgis!!!

      Reply
      • To be honest, QE does not seem like a cat lady, but that’s okay, she’s cool otherwise.

        Reply
    • Carolyn, we can make up any words we want when we talk about our cats, and cuddleable is perfectly understandable. When I see Bean like this I just want to go over and put my hands on either side of him and just feel his warmth and purr. Instead I draw him so everyone else can enjoy the same. Austin is a little taller and longer but I can see him in this too!

      Reply
  • Lovely, Bernadette!!!!

    Reply
    • Thank you, Anita–I have some plans for the background because I love the wispy little glowing hairs around his edges.

      Reply
  • Ohh, Bernadette!! I Love this one!!
    Love most of your others, but this one is exquisite, Marvellous, you name it!!!
    Brilliant!! Thank you!! xxx

    Reply
    • Annie, thanks! I knew as I worked on it that it had that kind of magic–it did for me too, and still does. When I work in the background so you can see the little glowing outlines and whiskers it will be splendid.

      Reply

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