"Basking In Sunlight"
Cat in Watercolour
So you reach that moment when you know a painting is finished and you just can't put your brushes down. We all recognise it. You have a painting in front of you and the last few brushstrokes have brought it to life. You are thrilled. You actually like your own work and want that happy feeling to go on and on and on.
But this is where we often ruin a painting.
Stop long before you think a painting is finished is the best advise I can offer many artists on my workshops and I have to heed it myself at times. Especially on this piece. I am painting my own cat Buster. Actually Buster was a very pretty cat and we couldn't decide what name to give him when he first entered our lives. At first he was just " Kitten". And then I would pick him up and say " Okay Buster, you will have a name that suits your beauty one day". Well unfortunately I got so used to calling him " Buster" that the rest of the family called him that from then on and the silly name stuck. Poor Buster. He should have been called something far more regal. And far more worthy a name for such a handsome fellow.
Well here he is, basking in the sun not risking closing his eyes in case a mouse or bird is daft enough to walk right in front of his nose as at this moment he isn't moving far too quickly to reach it if they are luckily too far away. He is in pure "laze" mode.
Now to move on to the next painting and I may take a break from cats for a while.
Or not!
I do believe when your heart is screaming at you to paint a subject you should until that song has past. I feel I have created beautiful "meow-sic" this week but what is next I wonder!
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Artists Tips
1) Stop long before you think your painting is finished.
2) Don't add a " last brushstroke" that could over work or kill the spontaneity in your result.
3) Paint what you want to when you want to.
4) Love the subject you are working on and feel a connection with it.
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