A Fresh Start

Morning Becomes Annie ©2009 Karen Mathison Schmidt
6 x 6 • acrylic on Gessobord

SOLD • private collection, Poway, California

(scroll down to the bottom of this post to see brushwork details)

Here’s Annie, in her favorite spot to relax after an early morning breakfast. The way she was backlit by the summer morning sun streaming through the window, she seemed to be absolutely glowing. Our Annie has only had one eye since kittenhood when we found her as a stray, but I give her two eyes when I paint her. She’s usually pretty elusive, having a tendency to flee the immediate vicinity whenever I approach carrying a strangely shaped object (like my camera), but she must have been feeling especially mellow this morning because she let me snap a few photos (from the doorway, with the zoom lens of course) before I tiptoed on my way and left her to her morning meditations. As you can see in this previous painting of Annie, she crosses her front legs the same way whenever she’s kicking back and chilling out. So cute.

I had a hard time with this painting at first. I finished one and was thoroughly unhappy with the way it turned out. It was way too stiff and stilted. Plus, because her little face and her eyes are so round compared to most cats I’ve seen, it was really hard not to make her look like a person made up to look like a cat. Which she totally did in the first painting.

So I called do-overs, took a few minutes to freshen my palette and to pray sincerely for inspiration, and started again. This second painting captures the light much better. And she looks like a cat, too, not a little girl wearing cat make-up (whew!)

Just for fun, here are a few more rare photos of Annie:


Um ... were you planning on serving us our dinner anytime soon?



Here she is on the stairs ...


... making sure that no danger lurks above before she heads up to her favorite spot ...



And here are some close-up details:

Zee painting, she is finished.

Ensconced ©2009 Karen Mathison Schmidt
14 x 11 x 1• acrylic on cradled Gessobord
SOLD • private collection, Berwyn, Alberta, Canada

Here are some close-up details:

I love my job.

Gracie work in progress ...


Yesterday I hitched up the mules to the wagon and headed to town to have lunch with my friend Mona at her place.

Not really. I hopped in the Camry and drove to town to have lunch with my friend Mona at her place. I took my camera with me, as I try to remember to do every time I go someplace, because you never know when that once-in-a-blue-moon photo op will present itself.

Well, as it so happened Mona’s friendly gray tabby Gracie was in rare form yesterday, and I got several wonderful photos of her. Mona has another not-so-friendly gray tabby Sadie, who hissed at me when I arrived and ran under the bed, where she spent the entire time I was there. Oh well. She won’t getting her portrait painted this week!

So here’s Gracie so far, ensconced in her favorite napping place on a wicker love seat amongst several comfy and colorful pillows. I plan to finish this one tomorrow and list it on Ebay. And I’ll post more work-in-progress photos as well.

And now I have a date with my husband. I’m meeting him on the sofa in about two minutes for popcorn and a movie.

Hasta mañana, amigos!

Further adventures of Queen Bailey ...

You Talkin’ to Me? © 2009 Karen Mathison Schmidt
5 x 7 • acrylic on Gessobord
gloss varnish for protection and easy cleaning

SOLD • private collection, San Jose, California

Sitting on my desk is a Mexican pottery vase filled with dried flowers that were part of an arrangement a good friend gave me for my birthday a couple of years ago. Messing with this little arrangement when I’m not looking is a favorite pasttime of Bailey’s. She loves the smell of the dried flowers and the rustling sound they make when she bats at them. Whenever I catch her at it, she stops and sits very proper-like and looks at me with this priceless look on her face.

Who ... me? What flowers? Why would I EVER even THINK of touching your precious flowers?

Here she is after I’ve demanded that she "step away from the flowers, sister!"


I think you might have left the stove on. Don't you think you better go check it?


Here are work in progress photos:

First, the ever popular black and white initial sketch:



Next, blocking in some color:



At this stage, I think it’s a good idea to start developing the part of the painting I’m most afraid won’t turn out right. In this case, the face, starting with the eyes. (hey, it looks kind of like she's wearing little boots, doesn't it?)




At this point I noticed that the vase looks crooked, so, as you can see in the finished painting above, I painted over a few key lines to correct it.



And here are the details!

Chardonnay Ray

Chardonnay Ray ©2009 Karen Mathison Schmidt
5 x 7 • acrylic on Gessobord
gloss varnish for protection and easy cleaning
SOLD • private collection, San Jose, California

I'm pretty sure I’ve said this before, but I’ll say it again -- I love painting my pets! Ray is forever forging ahead on the search for new and different napping places. Here he is lounging on a wine carton in my studio. It must be noted that the carton no longer contains wine, but various and sundry items which are destined someday to be unpacked and put in their proper place. Someday. Some other day. Not today. I’m too busy painting.

Here are my work in progress photos:
First, the sketch using only black and white paint.



2. blocking in some color, using glazing medium mixed with the paints. At this point I'm not too concerned about the fact that his face looks kind of like a feline version of the joker. I know I can fix that later.



3. adding a glaze of burnt sienna over the whole painting:



4. now, developing the details. The fast drying time of the acrylics enables me to work from dark to light, which I love.



5. I always like to finish the eyes first. That's where most of the personality is! And see, I'm starting to fix his mouth so he doesn't look so joker crazy.



Here are some close-up details, so you can see how I layer colors loosely over the background layers. I think the colors look so much richer when you let the viewer's brain do the mixing.