"Black Cat"watercolor
copyright
Jan Gibson
I've been hearing a lot lately about OSWOA's (Original Small Works of Art) and wanted to try one. Actually, the Japanese Magnolia that I posted a couple of days ago is an OSWOA but that was sort of an experiment. This painting was intentionally painted as an OSWOA and I was determined to paint it to the best of my ability.
One of the specifications for an OSWOA is the size - 4 inches by 6 inches. As a matter of fact, that's about the only specification other than the work has to be original - no copies or prints except for some very stringent rules for prints.
It's the size that I want to comment on though. Four inches by six inches is pretty small and therefore very hard to achieve much detail on them. I've done a few ATC's (Artists Trading Cards when traded with other artists) or ACEO's (Art Cards Editions and Originals when sold as original artwork to the general puplic) and it's extremely difficult. ATC/ACEO cards are even smaller than the OSWOA's at only 2.5 X3.5 inches and it's very hard to do them with the mediums I use. I thought the OSWOA's would be a little easier but it's still difficult to get a brush or a fat pastel pencil into such a small space and come away with something recognizable! Not only are the brushes/pencils almost too large for detail, but your hand is always in the way so you can't really see what you're painting!
So, I was pretty pleased with the outcome of the cat painting above. I belong to a group of patrons of my favorite pet store who get together once a month or so and this month we're having a small gift exchange. This kitty will be my gift for this occasion. I hope whoever gets it likes it and isn't disappointed at all. The plan is to put all the gifts (wrapped) into a large container and let everyone draw one out. So, no one knows who will get what gift. I debated about painting a cat. I know about the dogs everyone has, but somehow, the cats don't get as much discussion time. I didn't want to paint a dog as most everyone has a rescue dog or two who certainly aren't purebred and it would be almost impossible to please someone with a dog breed painting. And, not knowing who would receive my gift also made it hard to paint a specific animal. I actually wanted to paint a wild animal but figured I'd be safer painting a cat. We'll see if I change my mind and paint something else before the exchange! lol
But this cat photo spoke to me plus I wanted to try a black animal again to see if I could give it enough life to make it interesting. I'll let you decide if that's been accomplished!
One of the specifications for an OSWOA is the size - 4 inches by 6 inches. As a matter of fact, that's about the only specification other than the work has to be original - no copies or prints except for some very stringent rules for prints.
It's the size that I want to comment on though. Four inches by six inches is pretty small and therefore very hard to achieve much detail on them. I've done a few ATC's (Artists Trading Cards when traded with other artists) or ACEO's (Art Cards Editions and Originals when sold as original artwork to the general puplic) and it's extremely difficult. ATC/ACEO cards are even smaller than the OSWOA's at only 2.5 X3.5 inches and it's very hard to do them with the mediums I use. I thought the OSWOA's would be a little easier but it's still difficult to get a brush or a fat pastel pencil into such a small space and come away with something recognizable! Not only are the brushes/pencils almost too large for detail, but your hand is always in the way so you can't really see what you're painting!
So, I was pretty pleased with the outcome of the cat painting above. I belong to a group of patrons of my favorite pet store who get together once a month or so and this month we're having a small gift exchange. This kitty will be my gift for this occasion. I hope whoever gets it likes it and isn't disappointed at all. The plan is to put all the gifts (wrapped) into a large container and let everyone draw one out. So, no one knows who will get what gift. I debated about painting a cat. I know about the dogs everyone has, but somehow, the cats don't get as much discussion time. I didn't want to paint a dog as most everyone has a rescue dog or two who certainly aren't purebred and it would be almost impossible to please someone with a dog breed painting. And, not knowing who would receive my gift also made it hard to paint a specific animal. I actually wanted to paint a wild animal but figured I'd be safer painting a cat. We'll see if I change my mind and paint something else before the exchange! lol
But this cat photo spoke to me plus I wanted to try a black animal again to see if I could give it enough life to make it interesting. I'll let you decide if that's been accomplished!
4 comments:
Jan, I just love this cat, I saw it on LMA and it caught my eye right away. Then again on my little slide show on blogger. This is very well done and believe me it will be well accepted as a gift, especially from animal lovers!
Thank you so much, Paulette. I like him/her too for a change,
Hi Jan, lots of personality showing here. Nice work. I'll be back soon....
Thanks, Jo. Watercolor isn't my strongest medium but I do enjoy it and end up with a "keeper" now and then.
Come back and visit any time.
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