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Birgitte-Gustavsen ā Study of a Smug Cat
Published: 2011-08-07 23:23:34 +0000 UTC; Views: 2426; Favourites: 78; Downloads: 52
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Description
Between 2.5 - 3.5 hoursI got the rather unique opportunity to take quite a few reference photos of a cat a month ago. I went out to immortalize our lilac tree on its last summer legs, and found an attention seeking cat instead.
This is pretty rare for me, so I made the most of it. It seemed quite keen to have it's head scratched, so I doubt it was just being sociable. Alas it's favourite places to be was behind me or underneath me, so what I got was mostly a lot of photos of a cats backside.
What made it funny or annoying was its attitude towards attention. As soon as it had a bit of it, it got nonchalant and wandered off. The first time this happened I just shrugged and got on with the lilac tree session. Hardly a minute of that went by before the cat was back and rubbing itself up against my legs, mewling. More head scratching and photos of a cat's backside ensued. Then it spotted some interesting grass and went off. Off for more flower photography...and guess who came slinking back for more attention. It did this 6 times, that little prima donna. In the end though I was outclassed by some passing insect, and it vanished. It's rather typical of my luck that the pictures with the crispest lines is of it's backside, and the blurriest when it actually acknowledges the cameras existence.
Though there were some photos that wasn't entirely useless, and I put two of those together as a reference for this study. Neither of them would be submittable as photos by themselves, but together they made for a fairly nice image. Still a lot of a cats backside, but at least it's looking at us. To make it look smug I narrowed its eyes a bit and widened its mouth to make smile lines. I also lowered its alert ears for a more relaxed kitty. I wanted it to be the expression of a creature that knows it can act like a bitch and still be adored for it.
I also realize I went extremely rough and lazy regarding the gravel and the grass. Which was more weed than lawn really, but I didn't feel like spending much time on it, and am now just hoping I'll get away with it
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Comments: 121
The first thing I saw when I looked at your picture was the typical cat expression of beeing totally content with everything. You drew not only a cat but managed to give its face a very intelligent expression I really like. It is very hard to look away from it since its eyes are fixed on you and wont let you got to easily.
There's not much I could say about your technique. I really like your style since it is very fresh and vivid, capturing the essence of the scene without overloading the picture with details.
The anatomy is very good as well. The only part confusing me was the right front leg of the cat which looks a bit like a stump. But I only saw that after I had looked at the picture several times, so it's not that bad to me.
The color of the grass is very vivid and rich and is, together with the yellow dots of the flowers, a good contrast to the blue-ish grey of the wall and the cat. The green and the blue make this picture colorful without overdoing it; there is just the right amount of rich color in it.
I do like the format and the composition of the picture as well. I don't know the english word for it (I got the translation "on end" and "on edge" for it) but I like the format nonetheless.
It intersting that the cat is positioned in the upper half of the picture with only its tail reaching to the bottom of it. In combination with the details in the cat and the roughly sketched grass the eyes of the viewer is always led back to the cat and it's very expressive face. It's hard to explain; but as soon as I let my eye wander over your picture, away from the cat's face, it always finds itself in the rough grass and glides along the cat's tail to the part of the picture with more details, the cat itself. It's a real intersting effect I do really like e.deviantart.net/emoticons/s/sā¦ " width="15" height="15" alt="
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I love getting critiques, and I really appreciate the effort you've put into writing this. Thank you
And I'm glad the cat's face seems to be doing it's wily, charming work.
I wouldn't be surprised if the front leg there looks a bit odd. At the time there was a rather obstructive rock it was half way resting on, and I chose to leave it out of the composition. But it also means my reference wasn't spot on because without it the pose isn't exactly true. I probably should have tried to correct the paw more, but I was worried I'd make it worse.
Though I must admit that the leading the eye thing is at least partly coincidental. I like thinking about composition and other visual tricks and leads but I don't always consciously follow the rules. Sometimes this leads to failures. And sometimes, it appears, to success
Again, thank you for your generous critique
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You are welcome. I'm glad I could help with the critique.
I know what you mean; all to often I compose my pictures based on instinct and gusto and see what happens with it instead of planing everything ahead. But I think there's nothing wrong with that.
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Very nice! The cat indeed looks very satisfied
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You did a AWESOME job!!! Having a 5 ish cats myself; I know them well, and this piece is exteremly well composed.
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5 cats, that must be quite a handful. And thank you for the nice compliment
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Well, technically, three are strays that we feed in our backyard, two are mine. And welcome!
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Ah. How nice of you to look out for them
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The reward is the eventual snuggling of them.
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A lot of things are done for the prospect of snuggling
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So it would appear.
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The cat's expression is utterly priceless, I love the paint brush effect!
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Very nice details! I might of thought it was a traditional style painting if it wasnt for the DA catogerys.
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Thank you, and I aim to hoodwink with my style
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Very nice, cute kitty. When I first saw it it I could of sworn it was a acrylic or pastal painting. A wonderful effect!
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Thank you, and I'm unreasonably smug myself at having nearly fooled you
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Hah, you have every right to be! It looks amazing.
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The painting is so Good! and i love the cat! So cute.
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Thank you, and I'm glad it's caused a good feeling
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your welcome
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This is absolutely stunning. I really love the paint style you used for this. Great work!
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Thank you for such a nice comment, and I'm glad to see the style going down well
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I love the texture, the colours, and the cat's attitude. You definitely accomplished your goal with that last one. Well done!
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I'm glad you think it's been a success 
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Wonderful painting! I love the oil painting look and how you captured the expression.
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Thank you, and I'm always happy to hear people mentioning the oil painting look
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You're very welcome
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Well fed certainly
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This is beyond adorable. I like the painterly roughness here it fools you into thinking that this may be traditional work at first which is something I always like.
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Such a sweet thing to say, and I hope to be able to make even more convincing foolery in the future
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the yellow flowers really pop and help keep this from being flat and one color
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Thank you for mentioning it
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