Cat 9

(Above: painting reworked a few years later)

Cat 9.
Acrylic on Masonite, 12" x 12".

In the cooler months, Lizzy goes through a phase of jumping onto the computer chair every time I vacate it, having figured out the chair seat will be warm. I ended up having to set up two chairs by the computer so we could each have a seat, and we constantly switch chairs when I get up to stretch or refill my coffee cup.

I was attracted to the strong light source and the curving shadows. I added her toy mouse for another hit of the intense ochre color, and add some interest. Adding the small toy created a visual color diagonal, added some scale, and some silly relief to an otherwise stogy pose. The cat has almost a cardboard cutout quality which may have been resolved by softening the top line across the back. The line is too hard edged for a soft, furry critter. Now I think I should have intensified the pink tone in her ears, taking them closer in hue to the ears on the toy.

Later on I was asked why I had not included this painting in a showing of the entire cat series, and I had to stop and think about that. The painting was no better or worse than the others; it simply did not meet my expectations at the time. Sometimes you start a painting with an expectation or a very clear destination, and sometimes it just evolves and heads off somewhere else with variable results. Maybe the mark of a good painter is one who can control and manipulate the outcome.