More fish!

acryclic background with pencil detail. A1 size.

Missing days and found cat

A whole week off between Christmas and new Year - a whole week to do nothing but paint!! Nah. Once in the glorious stupor of Christmas socialising, over eating and generally chilling out it's been pretty hard motivating myself to paint. But I have had a goal - the deadlines for Show me the Monet and the Towner submissions are looming so I've been preparing. I wanted to paint 5 new works but have plumped for 2 (maybe 3 by the end of tomorrow) - one woodland scene and another fish painting . I was lucky enough to receive a pack of coloured pencils for a Christmas present from number 3 son and enjoyed working curled up on the sofa in front of the fire, instead of at an easel in the chilly 'studio'.

Cat stopped play though as we have an unexpected visitor in the shape of a large and smelly ginger cat, a Tom I presume as it seems to be a 'sprayer'. He's a beauty but not friendly, hisses whenever we go near and I think he's either ill or hurt. He's made himself at home on some old curtains in the garage. Cats Protection League are sending someone to scan him for a chip tomorrow and I went round all of the neighours houses this afternoon with photos so hope he'll be moving on soon! Our poor cat prefers to hide outside under the car and the dog is showing an unhealthy interest in the litter tray.

He may be inspiration for another painting..

Pastels and perspex

When uninspired, grab some old toot and draw a still life. In true Cezanne style I deliberately twist perspective to see the most interesting bits and make a better composition - I don't stop to plan, I just start drawing and see what looks good. Chalk pastel pencils on smooth grey paper.
In another style I was experimenting with painting on the back of a sheet of perspex/acrylic (from an abandoned old clip frame I found) then scraping off and repainting the back to pick out colours - light shining through works well so I'll probably work on this technique a bit more.