Cat and a Pumpkin

[moscatel]

"Cat and a Pumpkin", about 25x35 cm, oil sketch on linen canvas piece.
This is another pumpkin sketch of my cat, I don't quite like the space between those two: maybe overlapping would be better. Now they are too separate, maybe. There are areas for example cat's eyes and the cat itself that need more work but once again I was kind of searching for composition, color, elements, what color and value bg etc. I did do several thumb nail size pencil sketches beforehand but not sure they helped that much. The flowers are pumpkin flowers from my garden.

 

[Donna T]

This is so beautiful, moscatel! The pumpkin flowers add so much and the colors are gorgeous. If the space is bugging you could you possibly place the cat's tail behind the pumpkin, maybe have it curl up like in your previous painting? The pumpkin seeds fill that foreground area perfectly!

 

[Lazarus]

Poof... that green line around the pumpkin orange.
again you have sky in the background if ill get use to it i might start to forgive .
nicely done. these kind of strokes which making adges, sometime blurred, sometime rough, sometime soft, sometime sharp, are what making very good painting. you can hear even David leffel (painter) mention that.

 

[ams]

Well done Moscatel. I especially like the expression on the cat and the way you did the leaves on the ground.

 

[Enyaw]

Moscatel. Your colours are lovely but my same old harp. Lacks atmospheric distance. If the cat and a few yellow leaves in the area of the cat were muted then they would sit back and you would have your distance. A few changes and you go from good to great on this one.

 

[moscatel]

Next I will post one more new thread where is a WIP painting of what I'm doing now after painting these few studies of the cat and pumpkin but before I thank you all of you who clicked like and commented on this piece:
Donna, thank you so much! You have a very good idea: the tail can cover the odd space! Thanks for the idea. This one still needs more work in many areas - also the flowers - but I'm now finishing another pile of big paintings so this one needs to wait.
Lazarus, thank you! I will still fix many areas in this painting but it got unfinished for a while. I was also looking for the color and value what to paint there in the "sky" area. I'm not convinced but I couldn't find any other tone there either .. one solution is turn it greyish and that would often work. But just wait how I resolved the blue sky in the next post that I'm going to make in a minute "Cat Surrounded by the Pumpkin Flowers". Lazarus, I think I make so many still lifes (studies and finished paintings) that I get tired of trying the same bg always and that's maybe why I put there the sky color occasionally. Anyway, good point from you "the blue sky". I'm thankful for your observations. Ah, I actually have purchased one of David Leffel's still life CDs and it's all full of wonderful stuff. So inspiring! Now that you mentioned it, I have an urge to dig it from somewhere and watch it again!
Anne, Thank you! I will also try to keep the expression interesting when I work more on this one. The eyes need more work definitely. They are now very dull.
Wayne, Thank you! I try to remember the distance/atmosphere when I work more on this one. Your right, I was trying to make the focal point on cat but can I really, in this case? I think not because the pumpkin is so obvious and it's more near to the viewer so cat needs to be secondary in this case. I think, you have resolved the problem in this painting. We the artists are often so blind for our work that is in front of us.

 

[Enyaw]

Moscatel:
Actually you can reverse my thoughts .. blur out the front piece and leave the cat intact .. you know how you look at an apple that is in front of the orange but focus on the orange. If you focus on the orange the apple loses it's crispness and the crispness goes to the orange. our eyes can only handle one point of attention.

 

[Artyczar]

I think the space between them is actually good. It breathes. Great composition. An amazing, exciting painting. Really REALLY wonderful!

 

[moscatel]

Wayne, good point!
Arty, thank you for your thoughts and thank you for commenting!

 

[Terri]

I think it's delightful from top to bottom and edge to edge. The space between the subjects doesn't bother me a bit - if you hadn't mentioned it, moscatel, I doubt it would have registered with me at all.

The pumpkin is masterful, the green lining and scattered seeds are wonderful details. I like the framing from the pumpkin flowers around the painting, as it defines your depth of field.

And you can never really go wrong when there's a cat in your painting. Just sayin'.

 

[Reddyman]

"Cat and a Pumpkin", about 25x35 cm, oil sketch on linen canvas piece.
This is another pumpkin sketch of my cat, I don't quite like the space between those two: maybe overlapping would be better. Now they are too separate, maybe. There are areas for example cat's eyes and the cat itself that need more work but once again I was kind of searching for composition, color, elements, what color and value bg etc. I did do several thumb nail size pencil sketches beforehand but not sure they helped that much. The flowers are pumpkin flowers from my garden.

View attachment 11986

Moscatel,

This looks super and I really like the palette you have used here. The cat looks very attentive with nice subtle markings....really like the way you grounded the cat and the pumpkin too. Great job!

John

 

[Dm7]

Ah, that's different indeed. I see what you mean by empty space, but it has its own advantage, I think. It's open for perhaps more objects in the background? Like faint trace of something to give it more depth? Like a pack of pumpkins. Dunno, just an idea. Either way, I still love it!

 

[moscatel]

Terri, John and Dm, thanks!
Terry, I'm glad you mentioned the flowers around the painting because I wasn't sure if they are ok the way I set them. I'm more convinced now. I did this study to look for composition and colors for sometime later to make a larger painting of the subject. This was fan to do.
Dm, you said it ... it's a very good idea to paint faintly something to the distant depth in that space. In my original post I was talking about distance but I actually meant the space between the objects. I this painting I think the space is a bit odd the way I painted it but couldn't figure out what to do about it so I left it and moved on to the next painting.

 

[snoball]

I actually like the space between, it looks more natural. Very nicely done painting.

 

[moscatel]

Sno, thanks for your comment, means a lot to me hear your opinion.

 

[KreativeK]

It works for me! Would be cute to have your cat exploring the pumpkin as cats are wont to do.