Painting a Mad Hatter Tiger

I decided to have a go at filming myself while painting, it was my first time so I was a bit nervous! I treated myself to a tripod for my camera and thought I'd have a go with one of my favourite subjects, a tiger.

I managed to attach my camera to a chair to keep it steady. I did discover the camera was in the way quite a lot and also my hand kept blocking the view as I was painting, so next time I might set it up a bit differently,  but in the end it wasn't too bad. I also knocked the camera a couple of times but luckily it isn't too noticable in the finished version of the video! 

I've speeded up the video and made over an hour of painting into just over a minute, wish I could always paint that fast!

Here's the finished painting:

Mad Hatter Tiger - Acrylic Painting

I've also made it into a greeting card:

Mad Hatter Tiger - Greeting Card

And a badge set:

Steampunk Tigers - Badge Set

So I have tigers everywhere!

I'm looking forward to another foray into filming soon!

Clare xx

Painting a Steampunk Cat

Titfer Kitty Acrylic Painting on Canvas

I love painting my Cats in Hats acrylic paintings and they have proved very, very popular! I thought I'd show you behind the scenes of one of my most recent acrylic paintings "Titfer Kitty".

 Here is the model for this painting posing with his best friend my next door neighbour's black and white cat Billy! They are always together and follow each other everywhere. I don't know his name yet as I'm still trying to work out where he lives but he is always in my garden searching for Billy to come out and play with him and I couldn't resist painting him as he is quite scruffy but still has a lovely face.

I decided to take one of my many photos of him and messed about with him on Photoshop putting various hats on him until I decided he just looked so right in a very dapper top hat and goggles!

I hate working on a white canvas so always try to get rid of the white as soon as I can. I thought he would work well on a red background. Here it is on my easel with a very rough pencil drawing to work from.

The next step I block in as much of the image as I can, keeping it very simple. He has a very cute smile here!

A few more layers and details added and he is starting to come together. A bit more work on the hat and goggles and then always the final touch of adding the whiskers!

The finished painting. The painting is resting on our barbecue as I find it has an interesting background for these paintings and I always try to take the photos in lots of natural light for the best effect.

 He also now features on a greeting card and should be in my new calendar that I produce every year around September time.

Titfer Kitty Greeting Card

Steampunk Animal Calendar

And will be added to the hall of fame of my many other Cats in Hats paintings!

Clare xx

From a Ginger Cat to a Pirate!

How to turn a simple photo of a ginger cat into many prints and paintings!

This is the naughty ginger cat that comes and visits us and very often steals my cats food! He had such a cute face that I had to take a photo of him and I couldn't resist using him in a few of my artworks!

This is a quick photoshopped version of him as a pirate about to raid my cats food dish, which I used as a template to paint him from.

Pirate Ginger Cat Acrylic Painting

 I then decided to paint him as one my Cats in Hats series of square acrylic paintings. Here he is with my tuxedo cat Morpheus in his various costumes!

Cats in Hats Acrylic Paintings

He proved really popular so I had to make him into a greeting card.

Pirate Ginger Cat Greeting Card

Next I decided to make him into a lino print to go with my Steampunk Cat lino print.

Steampunk Happy Cat Linocut Print

Pirate Ginger Cat Linocut Print

Once I had the lino printing plate ready I just had to print up a few Pirate tote bags.

Pirate Ginger Cat Tote Bag

Pirate Ginger Cat Red Tote Bag

 And of course a cushion!

Pirate Ginger Cat Hand Printed Cushion

I don't know his name but when he nexts visits I will have to give him some commission in the form of some crunchies for giving me so much inspiration!

Clare xx

Crazy Cat Lady!

I've been doing a lot of arty networking recently and I have been finding sometimes when I introduce myself as soon as that person hears my name they say "Are you the cat lady?" I always then think of the Crazy Cat Lady from the Simpsons cartoon!

I admit I have been doing a lot of cat themed artwork recently especially since I got my very cute black and white cat Morpheus a few years ago!

Who could resist this little face!

 My very first painting of him when he was still a kitten.

Kitten Acrylic Painting

 My very first and still my favourite collagraph print of him as a kitten!

Dreamy Collagraph Print

 I started doing quite a few collagraph prints of him dressed in his finest hats!

Captain Jack Kitty Collagraph Print

 Even printed him onto bags!

Steampunk Cat Bags

I also do an ever expanding range of acrylic paintings of him in various disguises! Also occasionally featuring his mortal enemy the ginger cat who is always trying to steal his food!

Cats in Hats acrylic paintings

 He even has his own Christmas card too!

Christmas Cat!

And he has been featured in the Printmaker Cat book with a double page spread of all my prints of him!

 

Printmakers Cat Book

So I suppose I can see why people know me as the Cat Lady, hope they don't start adding the Crazy part soon though!

Clare xx

My Studio Space!

 
I've decided to try and write a few more Blogs this year so this will be the first of many (hopefully!)

I thought I would introduce you all to my "studio" space or spare bedroom/dining room table! This is where all the magic happens!

This is or was my dining room table! My etching press lives on here most of the time and I always have the company of a Dalek or two while I am printing! Normally the cat tries to help too so he often has inky feet!

This my desk in the spare room. Its actually an ingenious design from Ikea and when all the drawers are away it just looks like a normal piece of bedroom furniture but when the big fake top drawer is opened it makes a desk, perfect for painting cats on!

One of my recent oil paintings just waiting for him to dry.

Lots and lots of pencils and paintbrushes ready for action. Totoro and Morph often help out too! The boxes in the background are where all my greeting cards live ready to be posted out.

 A few of my cat (and a sneaky parrot) paintings waiting for new homes. The easiest place to store them is on the walls so they don't get damaged and friends that come and stay always say that sleeping in the spare room is like sleeping in an art gallery!

Clare xx

Cats, Cards, Calendars and Necklaces!

This is my cat Morpheus my mews!

I've done a lot of paintings of him which have been spreading recently to lots of new projects!

The paintings I like doing the most are the small square acrylic paintings of him in various hats/costumes! (Don't worry I don't really force him to wear my hats and goggles, I think he would have had my hand off if I tried!)

Happy Kitty

Pirate Kitty

Kitty Potter

Captain Jack Cat

These have been really fun to do and have proved to be very popular. So popular I started printing cards featuring my cat in hat paintings.

Steampunk Cards

When it came to the time of year to start getting my calendars printed I couldn't resist doing a Steampunk Animal Painting calendar featuring of course Morpheus the cat and friends!

Steampunk Animal Calendar 2015

Recently I have been working with Gemma from SparklesbyGem who has produced some lovely necklaces featuring my artwork and of course they had to be Morpheus with his hats! The only problem is they are so nice I don't really want to part with them!

Kitty Potter Necklace

Captain Jack Cat Necklace

Happy Kitty Necklace

I'm not sure what we are going to be doing next but of course for all this modelling he does get his commission in extra crunchies!

Clare xx