Daily Sketch: Kelly With Grapes and Apple
When the sun moves around to filter into this window, Kelly hops over to enjoy it and have a nice bath on the cabinet. In a rare moment of repose, she sits still and lets the sun warm her back, the light reflecting back from the pine wood cabinet warming the tones of her tortoiseshell fur.
This is not an easy image to paint as a quick sketch, and certainly I would never have considered it as such if I hadn’t watched Kelly at this activity nearly every day since late March. I have enough of the colors and shapes and details memorized just from frequently looking at it and photographing it, so actually doing a quick sketch wasn’t as difficult as it might have been.
I let Kelly bathe and find a comfortable spot, sketched her torso and tail and paws, then watched her as she moved her head to a position that worked well and quickly sketched the outline of her face and ears; I had wanted more sun on her face, but that was not to be.
While I waited for Kelly’s tail and face to find a moment of stillness for at least ten seconds, I began on the objects in the background, the mid-century brass and tempered glass raised fruit dish with its olive green glow cast on the table, the apple and green grapes which I’d kept replenishing to continue photographing and hoping to get time to sketch or paint, and the simple shapes of the curtains and shadows on the tabletop.
As usual, there are areas I am not happy with and would render differently, but visualizing, then actually diving into the subject and rendering it is the only process for finding out what does and doesn’t work.
See also Mimi’s Sunbath and Kelly on the Windowsill for other examples of this style.
I am catching up with scanning images from the weekend when my scanner was in a bad mood…
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Click here to see other daily sketches, and for a gallery of the ones available for sale, visit my Etsy shop in the “Daily Sketches” section.
All images used on this site are copyrighted to Bernadette E. Kazmarski unless otherwise noted and may not be used without my written permission. Please ask if you are interested in purchasing one as a print, or to use in a print or internet publication.
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Lovely, Bernadette. You’ve captured all the colours n textures of her beautiful tortoiseshell fur.. in this wonderful daily moment of contentment. Thank you.
Thanks, Annie, and it’s sweet to remember her.
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Love your work. As an aspiring artist I love to see your daily sketches. I have 6 furrpeople living with me which includes a blk cat with a white spot on his chest named Jellybean,AKA Beanie boy.
Mary, you have a Jelly Bean too! That is just too much of a coincidence–another black cat with a white spot and named Jelly Bean.
Thanks for your compliments on my artwork, and best of luck with yours! Aren’t those fur people great inspirations? If you’re ever of a mind, please share your work, and especially don’t miss the chance to make a pet postcard to benefit homeless cats: https://thecreativecat.net/creative-cats-put-on-your-creative-hats/#.T7fiRFLtBYI.
I love this! Like with everything I view, it is always my initial response I go with. The colours, the light, the subject … purrfect!
Carolyn, thank you! I go with that initial response too–even after I’ve finished something I’ll put it away and then try to get a quick glance to see how it works. It’s a little more complicated than usual, but I have to go with what I’m visualizing or that vision gets in the way of anything else I try to draw. I’m pleased with it!