Black Cat with Mesmerizing Eyes - Original Oil Painting by Diane Irvine Armitage

Another attempt at painting a softer painting.  I have painted this cat face two other times and I find it helpful to go back to something that I have painted when trying a new technique.  I lay in the painting very thinly and soften it up and then come back and put in some of the sketchier strokes.  I'm happy with this one!  It has a nice luminous look to it - like the eyes are coming forward out of the darkness.  This original oil painting of a black cat measures 8 x 10 inches on archival gesso board and is available on ebay HERE.

Below are the other two paintings I did of this same cat.

 11 x 14 on gesso board.

 24 x 36 on a birch panel.  I have this one hanging in my living room and I think it is my favorite version so far.

Black Cat Closeup Original Oil Painting by Diane Irvine Armitge

I haven't painted in a while!  Time to get back to it.  Today's painting is 6 x 6 inches and is painted from a cropped-in photo of one of my favorite black cats, Cole, of Cole and Marmalade fame.  Cole has beautiful eyes, so I concentrated on them and left the rest very understated.

You can find this original oil painting HERE on my ebay auctions.

Black Cat Extreme Closeup - Original Oil Painting by Diane Irvine Armitage

Today's (and yesterday's) painting endeavor is a very large, 24 x 48" canvas with a closeup of a black cat.  I have painted this cat before (Nancy's cat) and this is a variation on a theme.  Another painting for the booth at Pandora's Parlor.

 You can see more of my black cat paintings on Ebay HERE.

Large Black Cat Original Oil Painting by Diane Irvine Armitage

Today's BIG black cat painting is 24 x 36 inches - that's a big cat face!  Painted from yesterday's study, I am happy with the results.  It is fun to paint big!

You can see this painting and all of my other cat paintings on Pinterest HERE.

Cat Painting - Black Cat Original Oil Painting by Diane Irvine Armitage

Another sketchy, loose oil painting of a black cat, 11 x 14 inches on archival gessoboard.  A study for a larger painting which I will start tomorrow.  I think I will leave in more of the body at the bottom for the larger version.  I'm happy with the overall sketchy appearance of this one.  Kind of like the look of a pastel painting, but done in oils.

You can see this painting on my Pinterest Gallery of Cats page HERE.

Cat Painting - Black Cat Eye Closeup by Diane Irvine Armitage

Today's painting is 11 x 14, a closeup of a black cat face.  I block in the colors I see, squinting down to get the right values and then I put in some sketchy bits with a smaller brush.

You can find this painting on my Pinterest Gallery of Cat Paintings HERE.

Sketchy Loose Black Cat Original Oil Painting by Diane Irvine Armitage

Another loose, sketchy cat painting.  I painted this from a photo found on Petfinder of a shelter cat.  The photo was pretty vague and I figured that could either work good for me being as there is less detail to noodle with, or could really mess up my day.  Luckily it worked in my favor - sort of like squinting down to see the basic shapes, well this photo only had basic shapes.

I will be posting this painting to my ebay auctions HERE.  And you can find this painting and all of my other cat paintings on Pinterest HERE.

Fluffy Black Cat Against a Luscious Red Background - Original Oil Painting

Last night I was thinking that it would be fun to paint a black cat against a red background, so that is today's painting.  I love the red with the black!  Very striking.  This painting is 10 by 8 inches on archival canvas board.

You can find this painting on my Daily Paintworks Gallery page HERE.

Black Cat Looking Up - Original Oil Painting by Diane Irvine Armitage

This is a fun point of view of one's cat, with the cat looking straight up.  Another fun whisker study on this one as well.  Original oil painting on archival gessoboard, 8 by 8 inches.  Happy Saturday to everyone!

You can find this painting and all of my others on my Daily Paintworks Gallery page HERE.

Blue Twilight Black Cat

There's nothing like a black cat at twilight!  This one is in oils, 10 x 8 inches on archival canvas board.  It is fun to play with the blues and purples and again, the whiskers really make the painting.

You can find this painting on my Daily Paintworks Gallery page here and it is available on my ebay auction here.

More Whiskers

I just couldn't stop painting today, so I did another whisker study.  Who knew it was so fun to paint whiskers?  I painted this in oils on a black gesso panel.  Man oh man, do I love painting in oils!  I'm not sure I will be going back to acrylics.

I guess it is obvious that whiskers would be light on the side where the light is hitting and darker on the other side - but I found that interesting : - )  Painting is all about close observation.

More Whiskers can be found at my Daily Paintworks Gallery page here.