Fluffy Maine Coon Type Cat Paintings by Diane Irvine Armitage

 I have been enjoying paintings some really lovely fluffy cats lately!  Lots of different colors to paint, very detailed work.

The first painting is of Angela's Scully, 8 x 10 inches.

The second painting is of Steve's Darla, 24 x 18 inches.

Here are a few progress shots of the paintings.

I started with a burnt umber toned board.  I find it to be a wonderful surface to paint on. 

I like to let a little of the warm undertone show through in the finished painting.

Same thing with Darla's painting.  I toned the white gesso'd board with burnt umber and then did a precise drawing over that.  I find with commissioned portraits that drawing with a grid system allows me to get the features in exactly the right place which is the key to getting a likeness.

Then it is just a matter of painting in the right values and color changes in all the little areas.  Lots of little patches of color on these tabby cats!

I keep working the painting over several days, pushing and pulling the lights and darks until I get to the finished painting.

The Lovely Annabelle - A Custom Cat Portrait in Oils by Diane Irvine Armitage

I am so lucky to have a lot of commissions to do custom cat portraits this week!  Thanks to a video that Chris from Cole & Marmalade posted on YouTube and Facebook, the video has generated a lot of interest in my painting!

Today's painting is for Stacy, a portrait of a very lovely black cat named Annabelle.  Annabelle's eyes were the most amazing color.  With greens and a beautiful blue, just amazing.  I very beautiful cat to paint, what a pleasure!

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

I have been getting great feedback on my new, softer painting technique.  I get much more dimension with the softer approach.  The emphasis is on the eyes with this painting!  Very mysterious, ready to put a spell on you!  This original oil painting of a black cat measures 10 x 8 inches on archival gesso board.  It is available HERE on ebay.

Mysterious Black Cat Original Oil Painting by Diane Irvine Armitage

Another day, another black cat painting!  I'm enjoying my new softer style.  I painted another black cat that I have painted in the past.  Nice to do several versions of the same pose to see what can be changed up.  This painting along with my other original cat paintings are available on ebay HERE.  Today's mysterious black cat painting measures 8 x 10 inches.

 The last version I painted of this pose was a 5 x 7 inch painting and was sold on ebay.

 Thanks for stopping by!

The Witch's Cat - Original Black Cat Oil Painting by Diane Irvine Armitage

Sometimes it is fun to paint the same image more than one time.  I have painted one photo of Tish at least four times and each time I learn something new.  Today's painting is one that I painted a while back.  I thought I would try to paint it as a softer version, but strangely enough it came out quite a bit like the original version!  Maybe my style just can't be softened so easily :-)  Here is today's version and below it the original version from a year or so ago.  Available on ebay HERE.

 

Original Oil Painting of a Black Cat in the Purple Twilight by Diane Irvine Armitage

Original 5 x 7 inch oil painting on archival gesso board - Black Cat at Twilight.  I like the contrast between the yellow green of the cat's eyes and the purplish twilight color of the background.  This painting is available through my ebay auctions HERE.

Black Cat Original Oil Painting by Diane Irvine Armitage

I wanted to go a bit softer with today's painting and I found it fun to do all the blending.  But I still keep areas sketchy for a little contrast.  This is a pose that I have painted before, but it is always nice to try new techniques with the same poses.  This painting is 6 x 6 inches on archival gesso board and can be found at my Ebay auctions HERE.

Art for the Catio

I am in the process of creating some art for my cats' catio.  I have a lot of ideas and have been working diligently on them.  One idea was inspired by Soo Sunny Park's lovely art installation "Unwoven Light," where she used many pieces of dichroic plexiglass suspended in the open holes of chain link fencing.  When I saw what she had done, I thought how perfect to turn my cat tunnels into works of art!  I used dichroic glass instead of plexiglass because of this being outdoors.

 Here is Morticia looking out of her stained glass cat tunnel.

 I left plenty of spaces so the glass doesn't block the cats' view.

 The dichroic glass changes color depending on your viewing point and also with the time of day and the light.  The squares catch the light and throw dancing fireflies of colored light all around - it is very magical!  And I only attached the squares on the top and one side so they can move and twinkle in the breeze.

Here are some photos of Soo Sunny Park's installation ...

 

 

 

Another part of my art-if-cation plan for the catio was to paint three huge paintings on plywood to go on the fence panels.  So far, I have completed two - a 8 foot wide by 4 foot tall painting of Mortica and a 4 foot wide and 5 foot tall painting of Luna.

 

 So on to more soldering of the dichroic glass squares (lots more!) and another large cat painting and several other fun projects.  I should be finished with it all by early June.

 In the meantime, the cats could care less about art and are just enjoying the great outdoors in their favorite spot - their catio!

Three Eyed Black Cat Painting by Diane Irvine Armitage

Finally the weather is not topping 100 degrees, so back into the studio for some fun.  I painted the blue-green fescue grass that the 3-eyed black cat is looking through.  I'm happy with this one and plan on doing more fantasy and surreal paintings in the future.

This painting is available on my ebay auctions HERE.

Black Cat Original Oil Painting by Diane Irvine Armitage

Back to painting a black cat today.  This one is 6 x 6 inches on gessoboard.

You can find this painting on my ebay auctions HERE.

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.

Impressionist Style Black Cat Painting by Diane Irvine Armitage

Another small impressionist style black cat painting.  I am trying to paint softer but still keep things sketchy.

This painting is available on my ebay auctions HERE.

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

I'm really happy with today's painting!  I call it "The Cat with Kaleidoscope Eyes" because of the sketchy impressionist style painting of the eyes.  I like to paint closeup cat faces where the emphasis is on the eyes and keep the rest of the details to a minimum, like today's painting.

I think I will paint this in a large version as well - maybe 4 feet by 4 feet.  That should be fun!  Today's painting is 6 x 6 inches on archival gessoboard and is available on my ebay auctions HERE.

Two Black Cats - Original Oil Painting by Diane Irvine Armitage

Not one black cat today, but two!  This pair of black cats was fun to paint.  I kept the front cat very simple and focused my attention on the black cat in the back that was catching the sunlight.  My favorite part of this painting is the front cat's eye - very sketchy and interesting colors, but quite simple.  This is a larger painting, 24 x 24 inches on gallery-wrapped canvas.  This one is destined for the antiques booth as soon as it dries.

Check out all of my black cat paintings on Pinterest HERE.

BIG Black Cat Painting - Closeup of Cat Eyes by Diane Irvine Armitage

Back to painting some bigger paintings!  Today's painting is 24 x 36 inches on canvas.  Once this one is dry, I will be bringing it down to my antiques booth to hang.  I like to have a dramatic painting at the entrance to the booth to lure the customers in : - )

If you are in town (San Juan Capistrano, CA), stop by and see my paintings in person at The Old Barn Antique Mall.

Antique Impressionist Style Black Cat Oil Painting by Diane Irvine Armitage

Today's black cat painting is very loose and sketchy with a diagonal slant to a lot of the brushstrokes.  I really like combining my favorite parts of a sketch with an oil painting.  Scumbling the black paint on very thin and then coming in with the smaller, sketchy paint lines.  Like sketching and painting, all at the same time!

This is an original oil painting on canvas with stretcher bars measuring 10 x 8 inches and is available on my ebay auctions HERE.

Sketchy, Loose Original Oil Painting of a Black Cat by Diane Irvine Armitage

Another painting of a black cat (no surprises there!).  Keeping it loose and sketchy.  This one has a tail that is moving in the background - fun to do!

Today's painting is 8 x 8 inches on archival canvas board and is available on my ebay auctions HERE.

Black Cat Oil Painting by Diane Irvine Armitage

Today's black cat painting was done with as little strokes as possible.  I just wanted to put the paint where it went and not mess around too much.  I'm happy with the results.

This original oil painting on archival gessoboard measures 5 x 7 inches and is available on my ebay auctions HERE.

Black Cat Impressionist Painting by Diane Irvine Armitage

Another loose, sketchy black cat painting for today.  This one is 8 x 8 inches on archival canvas board.

Click HERE to see my available cat paintings on ebay.

Black Cat Portrait - Original Oil Painting by Diane Irvine Armitage

Another 8 x 8 inch painting today, this one straight on, almost mug shot style!  Working on keeping things loose and sketchy.

I sell high-quality prints of most of my paintings at my antiques booth.  If you are interested in a print of this or any other paintings you see here on my blog, let me know.  They are $15.00 each plus $7.00 shipping.  This painting is available on my ebay auctions HERE.