Technique: oil portrait in progress

Commissioned portrait of purebred Siberian cat named Five Diamond Bucks Cocoa Mancala, or Miss Kitty to her friends. The oil painting technique used for this is a series of layers and glazing. But the first step is reference and meeting the model. After a photo session with a very patient Miss Kitty, I created what I call a digital frankenstein sketch which the client approved after a few tweaks. In this case finding the eyes was the most challenging so I used additional reference. My oil painting technique is influenced by Rembrandt with much glazing of transparent colors, using deep darks and adding lights for sparkle. For me it was most important to capture the beauty and personality of this very special Siberian cat. The final comment from the client was “that’s my kitty!”