"Kitty Up" : Progress Report: DONE!!!

WOOT!!

Time to celebrate all y'all.

Guess what's FINALLY done.

*happy dances*

Want to see it?   Ok!

I'm very pleased with it.  I'm tempted to fiddle with the corduroy texture a bit more but the rational side of me says "no, let it be".

It took nearly the whole class last night to get the whaling in.  I also touched up the eyes a bit and fiddle with the shadow at the right side of Mr. Roboto's head (lightened that area so it matched the space between Mr. Roboto's armpit and Timothy's head).

I'm VERY ready to start a new painting.  There is no class this coming Wednesday (holiday week) but we bought the extenstions classes so I'll have 2-3 classes this semester before the full Christmas break.  I could make some good progress on my new painting in that time.

I'm not going to reveal the new painting description yet, but I do have the name.  The new painting is "J+X".  I'll definitely be doing progress reports with it.

WOOT WOOT, another painting finished!!

"Kitty Up" : Progress Report

Oooh, the end is SO near with this painting and I'm so very excited.

Ok, here is the "before" pic:

And here is the "after" pic:

The changes are very subtle.  I did some more work on the eyes, gave Timothy a nose job and fiddled with darkening the black.

I have a good feeling next week will be my last go round with this painting.  I just have to fiddle with the eyes a bit more (making the green stitching pop more) and then lay in the whaling to get the look of corduroy.

Next week we'll have a model but I'm not sure I'll be doing that.  I'm not a huge fan of life drawing (because I SUCK at it) and I really want to start a new canvas.  I'm nearly 100% committed to the idea I have in mind (which should be a nice fast painting--famous last words there!).

Oh yeah, I'm so happy to see "Kitty Up" finished.  Here's hoping the whaling turns out well (it's really going to make Timothy pop!).

"Kitty Up" : Progress Report

Time to check in on my painting. . .

BEFORE:

And here is the After:

The only part I didn't work on was Mr. Roboto.  Wait, that's a lie.  I did touch up the blue dots (on the orange square), his eye, and his antenna. 

I really made some good progress on Timothy's eyes.  At one point I thought the left hand one (at the odd angle) was just a right mess.  But then I stepped back from the painting and saw it really WAS coming along.  I wish I had put the bright specks on the dark ring on the bigger of the eyes.  It would help me really see how close this painting is to being DONE.

Really, it is.  Next week I'll most likely give it another once over (dabbling here and there where necessary) and focus on Timothy's nose and eyes.  Then it's time to think about putting in the whaling for the corduroy.

I was torn on adding the text but after I got it on there (and saw how well it turned out) I'm glad I added it.  It's an odd addition that really works (at least I like it, and it's my painting so *sticks out tongue*).

For reference, this is the photo I'm working from:

Yes, my painting is not 100% true to the painting.  But it's getting really close which makes me VERY happy.

I don't want to make any predictions on how many more classes.  I'm just aiming to have this done by the end of the semester (including the extra three sessions we just signed up for).

"Kitty Up": Progress Report

Still chugging along on my painting.

This is the "before":

And this is the "after":

Most of the changes are very subtle. Well, except for the eye.  I deliberately put the green in just so this version of the painting would look different.  I'm willing to bet I'll paint over it next week but sometimes I just have to add something just to get a sense that some day the whole piece will be done!  Seeing that green line there on the eye makes me believe I will finish this one!  (ok, I know I will, but it's been a long haul with this painting and finally I'm feeling like the end is near).

I worked mostly on the background last night and you can really see the changes in the bottom (the most).  Looking at it again, I think I want to straighten up the dark stripe a bit.  It's too bent for my liking.  See the problem with the background is, I could work on it for the rest of my life and never consider it "done".  Blending is like that for me.  But I'm willing to say (at least as of this progress report) that the bottom part of th background is very close to done.  I was going to say it is done but. . .I can see it morphing a tiny bit more as I work on Timothy.  Nothing dramatic though.

The only area I consider "done" at this point is Mr. Roboto.  Yes, he'll get tweaks here and there but for the most part he's done.

YES, I found it (I knew I had it, I just didn't have the time or patience to find it last time).

This is the photo I'm working from:

I'm not going for 100% photo realistic, but I do want to keep the overall feel of the photo.  The lights/darks adn all that.  And I definitely want to get Timothy's texture.

Overall I'm still pleased with how this painting is turning out.

"Kitty Up" : Progress report

It's Thursday so that means it's time for an progress report on my current painting, "Kitty Up".

Here is what it looked like when I started class last night:

And what it looks like NOW:

Timothy's eyes are slowly emerging!

I think I'm about ready to consider Mr. Roboto finished for now.  I'll keep working on Timothy's facial features every class (it's such a small area once it's wet I have to leave it) but now my real focus is on the background. 

It's taking a LOT of blending to get the coloring right.  But it's totally worth the effort.  The more I work the background the more the figures start to come out.  So I need to spend some quality time with the background and see how it affects the figures.  As I layer and blend the background, flat spots on the figures crop up.

Once I get Timothy's eyes and the background to a good place I can work on Timothy's body.  The last thing I'll add is Mr. Roboto's antenna and the whaling on Timothy's body (he's corduroy).

For the record, here's the photo I'm working from.

(crap, I can't find it now and I don't have time to find it--I'll dig it up for the next progress report).

"Kitty Up" : Progress report

It's Thursday so that means it's time for a painting progress report.

This is where I was when I started class:

And this is where it is now:

It doesn't read on the photo so much, but I did get the pink on the nose and the eyes are finally roughed in.  Lot of work put in on Mr. Roboto's face, putting another layer of color on his mouth and working on the eye (lot of little detail there that doesn't show in this pic.  I even roughed in his antennae (though I bet it will get painted over as I continue to work out the background).  The orange rectangle on Mr. Roboto's chest is also just about ready to be finished with the blue dots.  The shading is looking very good.  The dark gray on the chest is looking a lot better now, too.  It was so flat and driving me crazy then the instructor says, "add some purple" and boom, problem solved.

I also worked the bottom of the background to smooth out that rough shadow under Timothy's hind leg and just work the background in general.  It's going to need a ton more work but it's really heading in the right direction.

Right now Timothy is (overall) looking very flat.  But a lot of his detail will come when I put in the corduroy striping which will be one of the last things I add.  In person you can see his legs are darker than his head, which is how he appears on the photo.

Speaking of, I haven't shown it for a while so. . .

That's the photo I'm working from.  You can really see the whaling on the corduroy which I'm eager to translate onto the painting.  What you can't really see in this version of the photo is all the color in the background.  It's just cardboard but there is so much blue, green, and red in it that it's really starting to become a scene stealer.  This painting is going to be all about the background.

So, as of this progress report I'm very pleased with where this painting is heading.

(but I'm also looking forward to moving on to something new, too).

"Kitty Up" Progress report

Guess what I'm back to working on?

Yup, it's "Kitty Up", the painting I haven't touched for MONTHS.  Painting class (well, it's kind of like studio time with access to an instructor, not really a "class" in the classice sense) is back in full swing and I'm back to work on "Kitty Up". 

Was I tempted to start a new painting?  Hell yes.  But I've decided I'll only work on one painting at a time that way I never have any half finished canvases sitting around.  So if I want to move on to something new I need to finish what I started first.  Kind of like eating your veggies before you can have dessert!

SO, this is where the painting was when I started class last night:

(heh, a few weeks ago I discovered I can make my pics bigger once I post them.  Hopefully that doesn't distort the image too much but wow, I can really SEE it now!).

Yeah, the painting was coming along but it was slow and kind of haphazzard.

I think I made some good progress last night.  The best part was, I didn't have much of the hemming and hawing I usually have when I come back to painting after a long break.  I just picked up the brush and went for it.

Ok, the first thing you notice are the "Village of the Damned" eyes on Timothy there.  Very freaky and creepy.

What I really worked on the most was the background.  I'm coming to the realization that the background is going to steal the show on this painting.  It's funny how many colors are coming through (in the photo I'm working from) on cardboard.  Yeah, the background in the photo is just a cardboard box which you think is just a generic tan color but there is a TON of color in it. 

At the top is a lot of blue which kind of melts into a really light blue then into a more classic "cardboard" hue then the reds and oranges come in (right around the middle) right where there's a really dark band of color that has a lot of dark greens in it.  From the bottom right corner the light blue comes back in and bleeds into a really dark brown (shadows cast by Timothy) and the left corner is really pretty dark with some more green really creeping in on the bottom left corner.

It's a lot of work to blend it all but it's really fun watching it come to life.  I think getting the background moved forward will make the figures finally pop.  They're coming along nicely but looked so flat and bland before I really started working on the background again.

Getting Timonthy's eyes filled in is going to help, too.  I've been dancing around them for quite a while now and it's long past time to get them really filled in.  At this point I can't really work much more on his head untile the eyes have established their place on his face.

I can't wait to get to the really fine details like putting the spring on Mr. Roboto's head and putting the fine corduroy lines on Timothy.

I'm glad I'm making myself go one painting at a time.  It would be sad to abandon "Kitty Up".  I think it may turn out to be one of my favorites.

(oh, I have an idea for my next painting already--but NOT what I was planning before.  But who knows, I may change my mind yet again before I finally get done with "Kitty Up".)

Progress Report: "Kitty Up"

This is the last progress report until the fall class semester starts up (in a few months).

BUT, that doesn't mean I'm going to rest on my paint spattered laurels.  I want to start (and hopefully complete) a "summer painting".  I probably won't dig into it until July since I have a July 4 project I want to get done by. . .of course.. .July 4.  I have a idea for the new painting (which won't be as large as the current one) so I have good hopes I can work on it one or two sessions a week and get it done over the summer break.

Hold up, this is a progress report on "Kitty Up" not a wish list of projects I want to produce so. . .

Here is where the painting was when I started last night:

And here's where it is NOW:

First thing I notice is how much lighter the newer pic is.  That is mostly the lighting from the room, not that I totally lightened the actual painting (I'm looking at Mr. Roboto's face and I didn't work on the light gray at all last night so it being lighter now is just photo trickery, if you will).

I worked mostly on the darker gray areas trying to get the mottled effect of the felt.  I think it's heading in the right direction.  The big problem is in making the hands look like something other than big ass blobs (the closer hand has real issues in that respect).  There's also the issue of the warped perspective, too.  Due to the angle, the closer of the hands is far larger than the futher away one.  Like "carnival mirror" distorted big.  It's also right in front of the dark gray chest panel so they do kind of blend together EXCEPT the hand (due to it being closer to the camera and the light really bouncing off it) shows the mottled color so much more than the other dark gray parts (all the dark gray parts are the same felt, which is very uniform in color, so the extreme mottling on the closer hand is just due to the photo).  So I'm trying to capture that effect to make that closer hand stand out more.  In person (and up close on the painting) the mottling looks like a hot mess.  But if you stand resonably away from the painting (as you would) it looks decent.  I definitely need to work on it more.

I also lightened the orange block.  It looks really light now but that could just be the photo.  It definitely needed to be brightened a bit.  I also darkened the darker parts on Timothy (but it doesn't translate well in this photo).

The shading on the shoulder corners is coming along nicely, too.  Really adding depth.  Adding the stitching really made the whole thing start to come together well, too.  It's crazy how that happens.  Something as minor as that can really make you feel like the painting is heading in the right direction.  Same with putting a face on Timothy.  Clearly that's going to change a lot before the painting is done but just seeing it on him really rounds things out.  It cracked me up, too.  At one point I had the eyes roughed in and had put some measurement dots on for the nose (just two for the side corners) and Timothy looked like an alien pig cat hybrid.  It even made my wife laugh.

I did a bit of work on the background, too.  That light swipe across the bottom is really working.   It's not there yet but it definitely is heading there.  Funny thing is, the background is what most folks comment on.  Like it really grabs their attention.  I don't know if that means the rest of the composition is just boring or if the background really is that interesting (or it's just folks being polite, like how you find something nice to say when you meet an ugly baby--"Oh, look at the little fingers!").

For the record, here is the reference photo I'm working from:

I'm definitely looking forward to putting the corduroy effect on (the class instructor is kind of giddy over that process, too--patience).

"Kitty Up": Progress Report

This is where the painting was at when I started last night:

(I just noticed how the shadow under the Timothy's rear leg doesn't connect to the leg so he looks like he's levitating!)

And this is how the painting looks NOW:

Eeee!  It's really starting to look like a painting now!  It could prove a little too soon for the details (stripes and such) but putting them in now helps me make sure everything else in in the right place (and helps with all the shading).  You can't see it very well in the photo but Timothy even has a wee mouth (it's kind of cute/creepy in person, like a mix between the Cheshire cat and Mona Lisa).

You can see I tied that shadow to Timothy's rear leg, too (just couldn't leave it the way it was even though it will probably change a million times before the painting is done).  I also lightened Timothy's head a bit.  It's surprisingly difficult to lighten black without accidentally going into gray territory.  It's more noticable in person but you can see it a bit in the pic (on the right ear--right as you look at the painting).

And in a rare move, almost the entire edge of the canvas (the part that wraps around the sides) is painted, too.  There's just one white spot at the top (where the clampy part of the stand holds the canvas) and the bottom is still raw (and will be for some time I suppose).

OH, and in case you were wondering, yes, that's a painting of a nude lady there in the background (GASP!).  We had a model last night but I didn't feel like painting her.  I'm a week behind on "Kitty Up" and there are only two more classes before the session is over and I'm gonig to miss one of those so. . .yeah, only one more class with "Kitty Up" before summer break.  No, I know I'm not going to get it done in one more session.  I also know I don't paint at all at home (the lighting is too bad) so I need all the studio time I can get.

OH, and for the record, here's what I'm aiming for:

I'm still wondering if the lettering (right corner) is going to end up in the final painting.  I'd like it to just for the oddness of it but I'm not sure.  And I'm going to underexpose Timothy's eyes a bit, so we can see that the buttons are indeed different from each other.

"Kitty Up": Progress Report

It's Thursday so that means "Kitty Up" progress report.

First, we start with where the painting was at the beginning of class:

And THIS is where it ended up:

As always, a pic of what I'm aiming for:

What I notice immediately is the shading on the darker gray areas.  Or rather, the color in general of the darker gray areas.  It's too dark.  And the light gray is too light.  The light gray on the face is getting toward the right shading/color so I should use it as a reference.  I think the dark gray of the foot might be close to accurate as far as the dark gray is concerned (it's a little too light on the lighter side of the foot but it's still the best dark gray on the canvas right now).

I slathered on a lot of background paint this go 'round and I think I'm getting the basic dark/light lay out framed in.  It might not really show in that small pic, but the dark swath across the middle of the photo has a very green tinge to it.  And the very light color at the top has a noticable blue hue to it as well.  So I worked with that this time around, to kind of get down the right base to build on.  And I put in the shadow (under Timothy's legs) just for kicks.  Sometimes I do that, dabbling in something a bit too early just so I can get a feeling of what the finished painting could be (kind of proving to myself that I will get to that stage eventually).

I also slapped some paint on the edges of the canvas, too.  I'm bad about that, usually leaving the edges glaringly white (and I don't frame anything so it's very cheap looking).

BONUS PIC:

My work station.  I wanted to get a snap of my pallette (just for kicks) and I kind of liked how this looked (with the photo behind the pallette and all teh painting clutter around).  Yeah, I have to set up my work station the same way every time, like a painting ritual.  My paint thinner jar has to be on the left of the oil jar and I have to have a paper towel diaper in front of both.  And I have to oil up my brushes (and wipe it off on the diaper) before I start painting.  It's silly, but I think it lubes them up and gets them ready for painting, kind of wakes them up.

I love how well used my pallette looks, too.  But I'll admit, the first time I used it and had to wipe the leftover paint off and the plastic didn't return to its pristine white plastic sheen, I was miffed (and a bit grossed out).  It was like the pallette was ruined because I hadn't been careful enough to use it correctly.  But now I like seeing each layer of paint adding a new shiney sheen to it.  And I like how the back is even stained up a bit even though I don't remember ever using it (though I may have accidentally put paint on it at some point).  And I like how everyone's pallette looks different.  Mine is very earth tone, being very brown/gray at the top and fading to a lighter color down where you hold it.  My wife's pallette has a lot more color to it and feels like it has more layers of paint on it, like he doesn't scrub it off as hard after each use (I tend to really scrub mine because I can't stand the idea of it leaving greasy paint marks randomly on other stuff).

And I'm a bit excited to report that the wife and I have just about used up our very first full tube of paint!  Somehow that seems like an accomplishment, like we really are "painters" that it's not just some whim where you buy all the stuff then abandon it in a closet.  And let me just say, getting the last little paint squirts out of the tube is a royal pain in the fingers.  I thought it would be akin to milking the toothpaste tube but it's far harder (duh, the tube is metal, not plastic, dingus!).  It's annoying when I bear down and squeeze and squeeze and a little turdlet of paint slowly prairie dogs out of the tube and when I go to wipe it off on the pallette I reduce the tension just enough that the paint sucks back up into the tube.  NOOO!! 

"Kitty Up": Progress Report

Nothing to report this week.

When the wife mentioned we would be going out for happy hour to celebrate our friend's graduation I had a feeling we'd forget all about painting.

And we did.

But we remembered the margaritas.  And tacos.  And laughter.

So the evening was great even if no painting happened.

There's always next week.  I'm really going to be ready to paint like a mad woman after this brief break.

"Kitty Up" Progress Report

This was the painting when I started last night:

And this is the painting NOW:

Eeee!  It's starting to look like an actual painting now.  It's amazing what background color can do for you, huh?  It drives my wife nuts that I take forever to do my backgrounds.  To him it's so backward.  And I'd agree, it does make more sense to lay down a full background and then build up on it but I just have this hang up about all the color UNDER the figures, like will it make it harder to get the right color in the end if I have to work to cover up some base color that's wonky?  Dumb, I know, but that's just how my brain works.

Ok, now to see what the goal is:

I can see the head still has a bit of a forward slant to it.  The front corner needs to be nipped down a bit (the negative space between the shoulder and the chin area needs to be bigger--on the left side of the pic--right side is looking somewhat ok).

And holy crap, what a difference that little splash of yellow on the eye makes.  It's nowhere near the right shade or any of that but just having it there really helps set the figures on the canvas and point out what's going well and what's still way off (it looks like there needs to be more space between the eye and the mouth--I need to move the eye up on the face a lot--it really is very close to the seam at the top of the head).

Getting the temporary facial features (Timothy's) off helps, too.  Those eyes weren't situated very well at all and it was distorting how I viewed the rest of the painting.  With them gone I can focus more on the big picture (shape of head, etc).  The head still is a little off along that severe down slope (on the left side).  Getting all the "erased" marks (where I had to cover up dark sketchy lines with white paint) helps a lot, too.  With the "mistakes" more hidden I can better focus on what still needs done.

The gray shades are coming along well, too.  The light is getting light enough.  In fact, it might be a little too light right now (but I need to work all the shades before I delcare it officially "too light").

I've said it before and I'll say it again.  These progress reports are really helping my painting overall.  The amount of cursing I'm doing with this painting (versus "Baby Elephant Walk") is dramatic.  The only muttered curses I've indulged in this time around are for legit reasons (like accidentally smearing something) and not merely temper tantrums (I had so many "this sucks, I suck, I hate everything" tantrums with "Baby Elephant Walk" it was downright pathetic and a bit embarrassing--part of it is my general childishness and part is I think "Baby Elephant Walk" may have been a bit too lofty of a goal for my skill set--so I was never going to get exactly what I had envisioned and it took me a long time to come to terms with that).

I'm starting to think about my NEXT painting, too.  I thought I wanted to do robot portraits (on oval canvases) but I'm re-thinking that.  I still want to work with oval canvases (just because) but I think I need to do something more abstract for my next piece.  I'm thinking of taking one of my existing paintings (I think "Jackie and Xerxes") and making an abstract version of it.  Kind of like deconstructing it.  My wife is doing an abstract painting like that now and it looks so FUN.

But first things first.  "Kitty Up"  (I'm really enjoying this painting so much)

"Kitty Up" : Progress Report

What it looked like when I started class:

AND. . .

What it looked like AFTER class:

And just for good measure, this is what I'm aiming for:

Ok, so I see I still need to level out Mr. Roboto's head.  It's still too high in the back (the top line along the light gray goes up too much--and the bottom line along the light gray needs to come up a bit on the front corner under the mouth).  Basically the whole head is still at too much of an angle.  The negative space between the shoulder point (dark gray area) and the corner of the head is too narrow in my painting.

The good thing is, Tomothy's head is looking much better.  The angle along the front is now severe enough (in the painting).  And the angle back to the ear is more straight (I had more of a curve going on before but it's straightened out a lot).

Once I get Mr. Roboto's head fixed up, dare I say I might be able to start real work on the painting (though I may want to revisit the Mr. Roboto's foot/leg--it's still not quite right but I can't see it perfectly in these pics to tell exactly what it is that needs fiddling).

I look forward to getting the texture on Timothy.  I have a black and white version of the photo and it shows the corduroy so well.

Overall I'm pleased with the progress of this painting.  And I haven't had the "I hate this painting, I suck" moment (yet).  Maybe doing these progress reports is helping me keep perspective.

"Kitty Up": Progress Report

It's that time again.

Here is where "Kitty Up" was last time.

Here is where it is now after last night's session.

I made a ton of changes to the placement of just about everything.  I made a full counterclockwise sweep around both figures and adjusted just about every inch.  I'm particularly pleased with Timothy's rear area.  The back legs (the one that you can barely see and the crotch area) are just about spot on to what I want.  Mr. Roboto's leg is better but still needs major work.  Mr. Roboto's body/head is much improved but the shoulders definitely need more work (with the lighter gray area needing expanded and the angle on the corner near the tail needs fixed).

Overall, good progress.

And just for good measure, this is what I'm aiming for:

"Kitty Up": Progress Report

Eee, it's exciting.  The first update on "Kitty Up" (new oil painting).

I've always wanted to document a painting from blank canvas to completion and now I can!

Let's start at the beginning.

Blank canvas.  18x24

I wasn't sure about the size.  See, I kind of let time get away from me and I thought I didn't even have a canvas.  But I found this one upstairs (ok, the wife found it) and decided to just go with the flow.  I worried I might want to go a bit smaller but "Jackie and Xerxes" and "Bye Week" are both smaller so I've done that already.  I definitely didn't want to go larger (a la "Baby Elephant Walk").  Transporting the larger canvases is a pain in the butt.  My first painting ("Vaguely Dog-like") is right around this size (perhaps a wee bit larger) so I'm familiar with the dimensions.

So, what am I aiming for?

That's Mr. Roboto riding his trusty feline steed, Timothy.  "Kitty Up"

So, in the course of 2-2.5 hours (class is 6:30-9:30 p.m.--but sometimes we're a little late or the instructor does a little power point of a certain artist or type of are--last night we got an intro to cubism) this is how far I got:

Not a bad bit of progress.  I kind of like how Timothy looks like he's wearing a ski mask.  I tend to do that with faces.  I leave the eyes unpainted instead of laying down a base and then painting the eye over it.  Especially when the background is black (and the eyes are white) I don't want to have to put that many lighter layers over dark (it's annoying).  And clearly Timothy's eyes are going to shift and change around as we move along (eventually I probably will cave and cover the whole face and they lay the features in over top--but not yet).  The eye we can fully see is clearly too narrow right now.

I like these progress reports.  I can really see what needs shifted.  Mr. Roboto's head/face is clearly not in the right direction (in the photo he's clearly turned more to the right) and his limbs are all kinds of wonky (especially that leg--woah!).  But it's a solid start.

I look forward to tackling Mr. Roboto's spring.  Getting the fine metallic shine will be fun (and getting the thread filament visible will be a challenge).  Getting the corduroy texture will be fun, too.  But I'm a long way from that stage.

But for now, I'm pleased.

Painting: "Kitty Up"

I want to document a painting from start to finish (I meant to do it with some of my other paintings but always forgot) so my newest painting will hopefully be fully documented.

I wanted to try something different from my normal painting themes but the prospect of a blank canvas where I just doodle with paint is daunting (and I just can't produce good "abstract" paintings like that--I'm too uptight when I paint).

So my next painting will yet again feature some of my plushie creations.  This time the lucky subjects are two of my newest (and yes, I do feel a little bad that brand new items are getting preferential treatment but I'm sure I'll get over it).  Mr. Roboto and Timothy (the yet to be shown off "corduroy kitty"). 

It was my wife's idea.  I was packing up Mr. Roboto and Timothy (for a trip to my parents' house to show them off in person) and pondering aloud what my next painting would be (since painting starts again this Wednesday) and he says, "Mr. Roboto could be riding Timothy."

It sounded awesome, so I put Mr. Roboto onto Timothy and it looked fabolous.

My wife is officially a creative genius.  (and it's going to his head a little)

Seeing Mr. Roboto on Timothy, the title was obvious:

"Kitty Up"

I do love a pun-y type play on words silly thing like that, so now I HAVE to do this painting.

But I still want to do robot portraits, too.  Mostly so I can use oval shaped canvases.  So Mr. Roboto will have the honor of being in TWO paintings (eventually).  And his (yet to be constructed) companion (currently referred to as "cylindrical robot") will be the companion piece for the pair of portraits.

It's odd to have painting ideas all lined up and waiting to be done.  I know "Kitty Up" will probably take the whole semester (I'm a slow and tedious painter) so that gives me enough time to secure the oval canvases (looks like I'll have to buy them online) and get "cylindrical robot" constructed.  But I'm hoping the actual portrait painting will be relatively quick (yeah, right--I'll be nit picking and cursing over all three of these new canvases--don't expect to see finished products for at least a year).

So, all tha rambling aside, this here post is officially the first one in the progress report for "Kitty Up".  I want to take two pictures each class session (one at the start, one at the end) and post them every Thursday.  Ambitious?  Yeah, but that's going to keep my creative juices flowing.