Carly – Quite the unique cat. She’s the only cat I’ve ever heard of who loves car rides and adventuring with her humans. In this image, she reclines nonchalantly on the back seat of her car with a jungle of cattails and bright foliage behind her. Depicting her was just as much of an adventure. And as always, my favorite part is capturing the subject’s essence. I find it interesting that that particular part doesn’t usually come until the latter half of the painting process. The ups and downs are monumental. (It’s not one of my paintings unless I’ve considered scrapping it and starting over at least 10 times before I finish). I see the creature and who they are twice during the event: once at the completion of the black and white phase, and again after 90% of the color is complete. The moment when the image goes from being “just a cat” to “the cat” is spectacular, and it seems to happen in an instant. Outside of the actual painting process, I love hearing stories about the creatures I paint before the project has even begun. When I hear how they’ve impacted someone’s life and made someone feel complete, it makes painting them so much more special. I may have never met Carly, but I feel like I know her now.
