Le Chat Bleu: Bad Kitty Dreaming

"Le Chat Bleu" 12 x 16 Mixed Media on Paper
Click here to view Etsy listing

On many occasions, the painting itself requires so much work, photographing it is the easy part. This painting was one of those rare cases where the process itself went smoothly (too smoothly, I should have suspected) and photographing the piece proved to be the real challenge.

I'm working on a series of color themed mixed media cats. Trouble is, I'm using different paper than usual and working in monochrome, both of which may be contributing to my difficulty with photographing the end results. I like to work on bigger paper with mixed media, so going to a smaller size and scanning the works aren't really an option. I finally got some decent pictures in the bright sunlight, something that tends to wash out my other works but ultimately was needed for this one.


Blue is a serene color, even in its brightest form. I knew my "chat bleu" would need to fit the tranquil mood of the color scheme, so I chose to include a cat at its most calm (asleep!) The pinkish moon is there to give the piece a whimsical feel, something all of the color cat pieces will share once done.



Having way too many cats around, I don't have to look far for inspiration to find a sleeping one. This cat in particular was based loosely on my cat who likes to sleep in the big metal water bowl if he finds it empty. I used acrylic to block in the design, and added a little purple tissue to the bowl and polka-dot tissue across the bottom for texture and contrast. A little chalk pastel completed the dreamy feel of the piece, and I hand-painted the letters in acrylic, adding a touch of pastel to those as well to keep them consistent with the rest of the work.




My daughter enjoyed watching the progression of this one, and when it was finished, she said "Look Mama! Bad kitty dreaming!" If I hadn't already known it would be called "Le Chat Bleu," I would have used her phrase instead.


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Http://www.nikihilsabeck.com

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