Daily Sketch: Reaching Abstract Cat
This is an idea I’ve had for a while and finally took the time to work it out. I wanted to capture the fluid motion of a cat reaching and leaping and had envisioned shaping the silhouette in this way. I knew the shape I wanted, so I forced my cats to chase a feather toy as I studied them, then sat down to draw this. It’s mostly Giuseppe.
It’s purple hard pastel or “Nupastel” brand on laid-texture Canson pastel/charcoal paper in the color called honeysuckle. I chose my harder pastels, which are long narrow sticks in a square shape so I could utilize the sharp edge on the side, twisting and turning the stick in the shape of the cat, using the twisting motions to shape the cat. Because they are harder there is little dusting and blending for softer areas, and I really wanted just the clarity of the texture, and used the layered areas to build dimension. You might need to see a demonstration of it to really see what I am describing.
I worked this out in part in an earlier sketch of Mimi called Sanguine Nap, in conté on smooth paper. The conté only comes in a few colors, while the Nupastels are in many, many colors. I think this will be fun to explore.
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