My Birthday Boy

It's been a snowy day in the studio, but that allowed me to get this quick little 8 x 10 oil painting study in of my beautiful blue gray tabby, Dash--named for fiction writer Dashiell Hammett--checking out the hedge for sparrows. It's his birthday today (he's 6) and since he's the feline studio mascot I promised him he could model today.

As many of you know, painting can be a lonely endeavor sometimes and so I wanted to honor all the animal companions of artists who keep us company.  Dash is the most vocal cat I've ever had and he particularly likes to comment on unusual weather like today. 

Speaking of gray, I have to mention how much I like the new Richeson Gray Matters palette paper--I've always used the traditional white but the gray really makes a difference for judging the lighter values. Also, today I ordered Santa Fe artist Nancy Reyner's book Acrylic Revolution and am looking forward to reading that.  Snow days are always a great excuse for some internet art book and supply shopping!


Finally, for those of you interested in my art classes, I also spent some of the day looking for affordable workshop space and hope to have an announcement soon of a workshop in Denver in addition to my private and semi-private classes.  My plan is to have a variety of workshops for oil, acrylic, and watercolor. In the meantime, thanks for stopping by and have a creative week!

P.S. For those feline art lovers out there, here are some other examples of feline paintings at Daily Painter.