Illustrating the Owl & the Pussycat
Those of you that follow me on social media may have heard me mentioning something about an upcoming exhibition in a few months time. I am so excited as this will be my first proper exhibition. The exhibition itself is in celebration of a certain cat-themed poem by Edward Lear. In case you haven’t guessed already, yes, I will be illustrating The Owl & the Pussycat!
I can’t believe how fast this year is going. The deadline seems to be getting ever closer at a quite terrifying rate. I’m nowhere near finished yet but I’ll get there. I always do.
In a Beautiful Pea Green Boat – Illustrating The Owl & the Pussycat Work in Progress
No new products this week because all of my attention is pretty much focused on trying to get these finished asap. Nevertheless, I thought it would be nice to show you a few work in progress pics. I didn’t have to illustrate The Owl & the Pussycat but, because I have 5 of these to do, I thought it would be nice to illustrate different scenes from the poem. Starting with them in their a pea green boat!
What a Beautiful Pussy you are! – Illustrating The Owl & the Pussycat Work in Progress
The next scene is “What a Beautiful Pussy you are!” depicting the owl serenading his kitty love while playing his guitar. This set of paintings is, without a doubt, one of the more difficult things I’ve had to paint. I’m enjoying it a lot, but the anthropomorphic nature of the owl has caused me more than a few issues. The water is also another hurdle. I’ve painted it numerous times but I’m still yet to feel comfortable in doing so. Maybe I never will!
A Ring for One Shilling – Illustrating The Owl & the Pussycat Work in Progress
For the third painting, I decided to illustrate the part of the poem where they meet the pig in the woods and ask him for his nose-ring. I’m trying to put as many references to the poem in to my paintings as I can. Even if it’s just a subtle one. This one for example, has the owl holding ‘one shilling’ and eventually there will be yellow fruits hanging from the trees in reference to the Bong-trees. Not that I know what Bong-trees look like!
They Were Married Next Day – Illustrating The Owl & the Pussycat Work in Progress
Time for a wedding! The next painting in the series depicts the marriage of the cat and owl by the turkey who lives on the hill. The Bong-trees are making another appearance, as does a hill, a church, a turkey (who may or may not be wearing a Rosary – haven’t decided yet,) and the lovely couple. I’ve been trying to figure out a way to get the quince and mince in to this one. Maybe a picnic table on the hill in the distance?
By the Light of the Moon – Illustrating The Owl & the Pussycat Work in Progress
The last scene, of course, just had to be the part where the pair dance on the edge of the sand by the light of the moon. I’m still deciding whether to paint a man in the moon. The problem is, that if I do, I will also have to paint him in the moon on the other paintings for consistency. I’m not sure how this will work on the first painting as the moon is huge! I suppose I can always paint him out again!
More About the Artwork
If you think these look a little different to my Whitby Galleries creations, or other work, you’d be right. I’ve decided to paint these using acrylics on wood panel. They measure approx. 6 x 6 inches and are just under 1.5 inches deep. When finished they’ll be ready to hang on a wall, or you can just stand them on a shelf if you prefer.
Prices are yet to be confirmed but I will have more details on this closer to the date.
When will these be available?
The Owl & the Pussycat exhibition opens on May 1st, 2018 at the Inverarity Gallery in Alvah, up in Bonnie Scotland.
