Kitty smooches

I made an original painting! I was recently introduced to the world of plus-sized pinup Hilda, creation of artist Duane Bryers, and I was inspired to try my hand at a version of her. I was heavily inspired by the pose of her making a phone from a bike, but most of the elements of this painting are mine. I wanted to incorporate a picture of a friend’s cat, and I had the idea of mixing in that cute scrunched-up face we all make when our pets are smooching us.

I’m pretty pleased with how it all came together. It definitely felt risky, having no concrete reference to draw on for the face, the cat, the lighting, a lot of the pose. But for all that fear, I feel like I landed in a good place. At some point I was starting to be able to “see” the lighting better. The faces came out cute, if a little abstract. We don’t need to talk about the hands or hair, right? I just wish I’d been able to make the cat tongue stand out a little better. But I’m going to chalk this up as a win.