I can’t believe this is my first ever fennec fox!
I experimented with a few things with this piece: different ways of blending the colours, adding more semi-opaque details, and using gouache to add some rim lighting. I’ll definitely keep playing more with all of these, especially the colour blending and rim lighting!
New Painting – First Ever Fennec Fox! Read More »
After more than enough digital drawing, now it’s time to paint! And who better to paint than my beloved Scuzzy cat!? I always fall back into painting my own pets when I’m not sure what to paint. Scuzzy has been my muse for over 16 years now, and I’ve never once gotten tired of drawing or painting him. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to convey how absolutely stunning he is, but I’m going to keep trying.
New Watercolour Painting – Rainbow Cat on Wood Read More »
Please enjoy this bearded dragon! I’ve been on a real reptile kick lately. Maybe I’ll figure out scales one of these days if I keep experimenting haha!
How are you feeling about these dark backgrounds? Do you like them more or less than the white with a splash of colour? And how do you like the stars/shines? I’m a softy for stars and anything sparkly haha.
New Artwork – Bearded Dragon! Read More »
I’m continuing my experiments with black backgrounds this year, so please enjoy this Burmese python!
Besides the background elements, I also experimented a bit more with glazing different colours. This is something I’ve mostly avoided in my work, since layering the same colour tends to give the most vibrant result. But the colour complexity created by layering transparent colours is such a strength of watercolours that I’d really love to make it work in my rainbow style.
I’m also still struggling with scales haha! One day I’ll strike the perfect balance with them!
Learn to paint like this through my classes on Skillshare.
Burmese Python Watercolour Painting Read More »
If this painting looks a little familiar, it’s because it’s my third attempt at using a limited palette to paint my kitty, Sparc! Last year, I painted my senior cat, Scuzzy, using just pink and yellow; and I’ve been struggling to create a matching piece for Sparc focusing around blue. I’m not sure why it took me so long to figure out that I needed to use cyan and cool yellow, since that’s the opposite end of the triad… But we got there in the end!
The one thing I really hate about painting on wood is how poorly it scans. There’s a luminous quality to all watercolours in person, but on wood, it’s cranked up to really enhance the vibrancy. Despite that, the painting process is just sooooo fun, I can’t imagine giving it up haha.
Watercolour Painting on Wood – Blue and Yellow Cat Read More »
Here’s my latest experimental piece. To no one’s surprise, it’s a cat!
I really enjoy the contrast between colour and pure black, but I’ve never found a way to introduce black into my rainbow pieces without dulling the colours. I think black backgrounds like this might be the solution?? It’s definitely something I’ll be experimenting more with in the near future.
This piece was also my first painting with acrylic inks! I love using India inks, but the lacquer in them dries on the palette and can create crumbs in the finished painting. Acrylic inks dry in more of a film that doesn’t tend to crumble into the wet ink, so it was very pleasant to work with. Bonus points for maintaining the transparency and vibrancy of my other inks and watercolours!
New Painting Process: Rainbow Tabby on Black Read More »
Please enjoy this little fox being very little and cute.
This is my first little experimental piece using acrylic inks. All of my ink pieces before this have been done with India ink, but it tends to create crumbs as it dries in the palette. So far, the acrylic ink seems to dry less crumbly, so I’m very pleased!
New Experimental Piece – Little Fox in Acrylic Ink Read More »
After painting so many fluffy animals recently, I had the urge to paint a tortoise. This is a sulcata tortoise, one of the most charismatic tortoises you can meet imo.
I had a ton of fun painting the scales on this cutie. Sulcata’s have quite thick spur-like scales down their legs that create beautiful, dramatic shadows. I’m still working on balancing the more subtle scales on the face, but painting each leg scale individually felt right for this guy.
One of my biggest frustrations with painting on wood is how poorly it scans. The yellows and oranges have so much more depth in person that gets lost in the wood when scanned or photographed. But even so, I’m pretty happy with this piece! I’d love to paint more tortoises in the future. Do you have a favourite tortoise or turtle species?
Rainbow Sulcata Tortoise Portrait Read More »
It’s time for a portrait of my kitten, Sparc! It’s hard getting a photo of him where he doesn’t look absolutely ridiculous, because he is a very ridiculous cat.
I created this as a companion piece to Scuzzy in Pink and Yellow and wanted to try a new colour palette. It was fun using the cooler tones, and this is definitely a colour scheme I need to play with more in the future.
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Sparc in Purple and Green Read More »
It’s been a while since I’ve painted my beautiful, sassy boy, Scuzzy cat. Here he is in my favourite colour scheme! Warm colours feel extra bright against natural wood, and this piece really glows in person.
I’m still experimenting with backgrounds and trying to figure out what I like. These little splashes were a lot of fun! I like how they’re more controlled than splatters and more saturated than a faded wet-in-wet wash.
Support my work here:
Ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/squidtartsart
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/SquidTartsArt
Etsy: https://squidtartsart.etsy.com
Learn to paint like this through my Skillshare classes: https://www.skillshare.com/en/user/squidtarts
Scuzzy in Pink and Yellow Read More »