Life's lessons:  if you haven't painted using Yupo paper, don't think you can pull out and sheet and create a beautiful painting like Renate.  Morale:  Know your materials both painting media and your paper/canvas supports.  Learning life's lessons here on this one.  Am using more Prismacolor pencils and their art stix so the pigment laydown is much different -
1)  They lay down lots more wax than my Staedler Karats and are wax based versus watercolor or oil based
2)  While the layers blend easily, due to the large amount of wax, it eats up the tooth - so need toothy bristol board or have to try the Stonehenge papers that hold more layers, rather than the smooth bristol I have and am using
3)  Because of the wax now know what "bloom" is - it gets a hazy or gray look that kills color, you can try to wipe it off, but comes right back, so .....
4)  ......Thank God for toilet paper (yes, this is one of many reasons) - read about it being one of the best, cheapest blender tools and it surely does work, took off some of the waxiness, rubbing got the pencil layers warmed up enough to smush (believe this is a highly technical term) together and it filled in all the little pinhole white pockets in the black background
5)  New strategy is to work in many more thinner layers and blend often
6)  Figure out a way to get the color on the cat in fewer layers without having to blend or just blend in strategic places, so that presents a whole unexpected challenge for me
Got the ear in and am going to work his body next, at least behind his head  and probably partially down the side - don't want to end up resting the protective paper on it too long, so how far down will vary, while I work on his face.  Think those areas might be less obvious while I see if I can get into a hair rhythm, that necessary practice before I would then take it to his face. 
Right now I have pulled out on the table 25 colors along with the white gel pen (you can see I tried using it a bit on his left ear) ranging from pumpkin oranges to browns that I think I am going to need to get the coloration of his coat.  That's a lot of colors but will compare to what I actually end up using.
Thanks for stopping by and hope you are having a great painting weekend.

Comments

renate said…
Hello great artist:) What a tension everywere! I can imagine that you are nasty if surprises come forth you don't like. But to hear so you have found a solution for all of them! Anyway but good that you had a good quality toilet paper in the House:)
I have had the eyes of the cat from your previous post really big on my screen. You can not see that they are painted. So handsome done! What a great color green is in processed. And they seem to be made of glass.
The ear is also great done! Ooooh, this is going to be very beautiful. I feel it. You're really a talent in this area.
I wish you a nice week end. We have finally also heat, but unfortunately no porch:) Lots of love and a big hug:) xx
August 18, 2012 at 12:48 PM
Rita Vaselli said…
Know the material ... is for me the never ending story!
Every time something happens again ... the materials that I seemed to know ... they seem to act differently!
This journey of every artist in the pigments is as wonderful as stressful! Congratulations on your tiger, looking at me more and more as a tiger!
August 18, 2012 at 1:06 PM
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