Deux Neon Tartans

I started with the small painting on top. I had quite a quarrel with a kind of thick neon pink paint. Although water soluble, it was very hard to get it homogenous. For the good order, the background of these paintings are fluorescent pink. I found a way to get an even neon pink background on a 20 x 20 cm canvas. Only problem, the paint already solidified in the tube. I bought this paint very recent to try, but I don't think I am gonna buy this paint again. Anyway, I started the turquoise cat as a tortoise, but thought it would be great to try a fantasy tartan pattern. As Eva had requested me to make a 20 x 20 cm cat for in out little hall of fame, I thought it would be interesting to make a second cat with the same color pattern. The bigger canvas made it possible to give the cat more expression in his face. Instead of the usual name stamp, I painted a Chinese lantern with my name on it (in Japanese). The first, 10 x 10 cm, cat has some clouds on the background, the background of the 20 x 20 cm canvas has a kind of aquarelle texture, due to the amount of water I had to use to get the paint usable. Note that I kind of forgot to sign the big cat, but that it actually looks fine without it. The name stamp on the lamp is of course also a signature. 

I had bought this Chinese lantern for a school play. It is actually the inspiration to replace the name stamp with a lantern.

 

"McCandy", Acryl on canvas, 10 x 10 cm, 2014

"McBigKandee", Acryl on canvas, 20 x 20 cm, 2014

Le Snacker.

I bought the greenish turquoise acryl paint a few weeks ago. It is a very remarkable color. It isn't really green, but it isn't really blue ("bloo") either. Originally I planned to make a cat in turquoise, but the difference between the two colors were so small that, when I was painting in my backyard, I hardly could see the difference. Hence the candy stick colors. I really got graving for sweet candy when I was painting this.

You hardly see this with the naked eye, but the pink paint showed some mysterious craquelé. The craquelé proces is stopped with a glossy varnish.

"Le Candy Snacker", Acryl on canvas, 10 x 10 cm, 2014

Sexy Legs

At first glance, not a real special cat, but I like this one myself. I bought the rose red acryl paint about a week ago and was curious how it would look in real. It's the purplish red inner stripe line in the tiger stripes. He has skinny legs for such a compact fat cat. Those are real sexy legs...

"Sexy Legs", Acryl on canvas, 10 x 10 cm, 2014.

Sound & Silence.

I recently bought some new acryl paints. A lot of colors I often use to stock and also three new neon colors (I already had Neon Pink). That's a big shout to paint again. 

I see a new series coming up. "Sound & Silence". It's derived of a piece of spoken word I heard many years ago. It was a reaction of the complaints by people who do not like music with the use of synthesizers and their synthesized sounds. . From what I remember the end of the text was: "There is no such thing as an artificial sound. There is only sound or silence".  What does it have to do with these cats. Maybe it's about their presence. They are apparently strolling around at night. The neon colors shout out loud in the silent background with only a few starts shining bright. So, here are Sound & Silence prt 1 and 2. 

"Sound & Silence 1" (green) and "Sound & Silence 2" (Orange). Acryl on canvas, 10 x 10 cm. June 2014.

Tortoise waiting

A student saw the "Lime Hunter" a week ago. I told her I thinking of some tortoise cats. I decided to paint a tortoise in the same color scheme as the "Lime Hunter", but in a more mysterious cloudy background and without a lantern. Characteristic for my tortoises is that they often have lost a scute from their tortoise shell pattern.

Apparently this big green guy is waiting for Phoebe. Maybe it's his girl friend. It seems at least he is looking forward for the things to come. Why Phoebe? Frankly just because I always loved that name. When I had a Tamagochi in 1997, I named my virtual pet Phoebe. As I only paint male cats (though sometimes refer to them as pussy), I could not direct name my cat Phoebe. 

"Waiting for Phoebe", Acryl on canvas, 10 x 10 cm, 2014

Fortune Lamp

This is a special cat. a few weeks ago I asked one of our students about the pink silicon wristband she was wearing. I was a bit shocked about her story. She got it from the nursing department of her mother. She had been treated for breast cancer. She told me this bracelet was a good luck charm. I was pretty touched by the story and decided to make a lucky nursing cat for her. Above you can see the scetch I made, of what I had in my head, so I wouldn't forget. Something went wrong in my orienting in the sketch, but it turned out nice in the final painting. This nursing cat gives luck and fortune. It's the first cat in a series "Lantern Cats". 

"Fortune Lamp Lucky Cat", Acryl on Canvas, 10 x 10 cm, 2014

Lime Hunter

I was looking for some high contrasting colors and came out to signal pink and lime green. Little problem was the lantern. If I did it in red it would be hardly visible and I already used a high contrast color. I used a special teint of dark blue, which works pretty nice here. 

"Lime Hunter",Acryl on canvas, 10 x 10 cm, 2014