Orson the Cat

9" x 9" colored pencil on bristol
© 2009 Stephanie Smith

This is my donation to the Powder Factory Cat rescue art project. Check out the site for more information, but basically there are a bunch of stray cats living at a cool old munitions factory near Loveland. Some people are collecting the cats and spaying or neutering them, giving them vet care if needed, and trying to adopt them out. This is Orson, who I believe is a kitten. I thought his huge eyes sucking in everything around him were pretty fascinating.

The art show opening will be at my studio building, Loveland Artist Studios on Main, during our 2nd Saturday Event on February 14th from 6pm - 10pm.

If it is like the previous cat rescue, a silent auction will be set up. People can bid on the donated art that night and also on eBay. There will also be merchandise with the different artists' art printed on things like tote bags, coffee mugs, tiles as well as prints to buy of the art (a more budget friendly option if you're interested in the art!)

Please come check it out!

Portrait of a Man

This is my submission for the most recent Different Strokes from Different Folks challenge- a portrait of a fellow DSFDF artist. After artists who wanted to participate submitted their own photos, the blog moderator, Karin Jurick, paired us up with another artist to paint.

I don't know this man's name but his photo was interestingly lit with deep contrasting shadows. I drew a few studies of it before I ended up with the final seen here.

Portrait of a Man
colored pencil on paper
























It was hard to paint another person I didn't know. I hope I got his likeness accurately enough and at least close enough to not offend! Unlike painting or drawing a scene with which you can totally fudge, imagine parts of and "take artistic license", someone's face creates a lot more pressure– at least for this realistic artist.

I am happy that it is done and can't wait to see what I end up looking like!