Tom Cat revisted

Tom Cat, 2019, 20x20, oil on canvas

Here is an update of a painting from last summer. I was never really satisfied with it yet I could not figure out why. Everyone who saw it remarked how they liked it. Finally, I figured out what was bugging me.  So that you can see the difference, I will post the painting from last summer.

Feral Cat, 2018

I liked the colors in the walls but somehow I felt it still wasn't quite right. Almost felt dirty rather than in shade. The other big thing for me was the cat's face. I don't know why it was so hard for me to get that right.

Going back to it I saw a number of things right off the bat that had escaped me previously. First thing I noticed was the cat's back. The cat was a bit to thin on top which was one of the reasons the face didn't look right to me. That was easy. Then the ears. The ear on the left was too small and the space between the ears was too broad. That was easy to fix too. Next I realized I was a bit off on the nose so got that done.  This is on an island. I felt that even though it is 'said' cool light, warm shadows; warm light, cool shadows, there would be a lot of reflected light and and I wanted the warmth to come through of the ambient air. So I changed the overall color of the whitish walls in shadow. As so happens whenever you redo a painting you have to sometimes lose something you are attached to to make it work better overall. So I kept some of the rosiness of the front wall coming through but not as much as there was. I also decided to add the clouds. I think they help make it more interesting. And a few more holes in the plant to give it more dimension.

Your comments are always welcome. If you have a more creative name than Tom Cat, let me know!