Beautiful Fur of Cats with Roslyn Levin - September 8th, 2018
Whenever you paint an animal, you will be painting fur. But painting fur is easier said than done. Roslyn Levin's workshop on painting fur focused on an animal with several types of fur: cats. Roslyn Levin began by looking at different cats with different fur.
Layering, Roslyn Levin said, is an effective technique when painting fur. Layering means starting to paint the fur with light grey ink and a large dry brush.
Simply follow the body was another suggestion for artists at the workshop. Painting the back of a cat, for example, lets you create brush strokes with the spine as a reference.
As you progress using the layering technique, add darker ink to get the markings of the cat fur to stand out.
For example, when Roslyn Levin added the ears, a darker ink made them more distinctive.
The result was a natural looking cat with fur that is a mixture of light, medium and dark hairs as well as markings or highlights that make this cat unique.
Roslyn Levin continued with a less furry cat.
Darker ink was used to sharply define the ears, shoulders and legs of the cat.
The tail was created with more ink on the brush. The end of the tail was the start of the brush stroke followed by a slow, twisting of the brush to create the turn in the tail.
In the middle of the tail, Roslyn Levin used pressure to create a lighter tone that also added roundness to the tail, making the tail look like a real cat tail.
Continuing the tail in one slow movement resulted in a tail many cat lovers have seen.
The two cats were painted in a similar way, yet evolved into two distinct cats.
This sleeping cat used the layering technique too to create the furry face. Dark ink created the edges of the eyelids and the outline of the nose and mouth.
Darker ink defined the ears and some unique markings on this cat.
In another painting of a tabby cat with an extended front paw, the darker ink highlighted the familiar markings.
Note that the head is slightly angled making this a natural looking cat pose.
But what about white cats?
Just do more of the same advised Roslyn Levin though with lighter ink.
This white cat had darker ink only around the eyes, nose, mouth and ears.
Roslyn Levin brought some of her favourite brushes for sale to the artists at her workshop.
A Buddha board is a good place to try out a brush. Just add water to the brush. The image on the Buddha board vanishes in a few minutes.
Then it was our turn to paint cats and cat fur. Roslyn Levin was available to help.
Layering is the key, Roslyn Levin reminded the artists.
Artists love painting cats.
With tabby cats, highlight the markings in the fur with the dark ink.
You can learn more about Roslyn Levin in the links section. You can buy a book on her technique in the books section.