Words of encouragement go a long way to inspiring young artists.
“Creativity is so delicate a flower that praise tends to make it bloom, while discouragement often nips it in the bud. Any of us will put out more and better ideas if our efforts are appreciated.” - Alexander Osborn
For example, "I love the way you...", or "Your style amazes me." is a great starting point. Get people talking about their art and have them practice talking about the work of other artists. "What do you like about it?" "Why did you choose this color combination?" Use art vocabulary, explaining how their choice of complementary or contrasting colors added interest. Besides praising an artist for their own unique style, it might be helpful to compare their work to that of other more famous artists. It also helps to take a picture of your art on your phone. Seeing a photo can change one's point of view away from the canvas you've been staring at for an hour and a half, and that which you've become overly critical.
Making connections with other artists and even the subject matter -- "Your brushstrokes remind me of Van Gogh" or "That reminds me of MY dog" -- are inspiring comments for an artist to hear. Their work is being thoughtfully acknowledged for its content, execution, style, or the feelings it invokes in the viewer.
 |
| Two Crabs (1889), Vincent Van Gogh |
My family, friends, and colleagues encourage me to do more art. Museums are always stimulating, especially when I discover another Van Gogh painting or see a Rembrandt in person! Flemish artist, Peter Paul Rubens was heavily influenced both artists. Van Gogh was also influenced by his friend, Paul Gauguin, who encouraged him to paint from his imagination, French realist Jean-François Millet, other Impressionists, and Japanese art. Van Gogh painted Two Crabs in 1889 as an experiment in complementary colors inspired by the color theory of Eugène Delacroix.
In May of 2017, I saw it hanging in The National Gallery in London's Trafalgar Square.
 |
| Emily's Chicken |
I wonder if PawsWithCause resident artist, Emily, was inspired by Van Gogh's crabs. Here is her portrait of a chicken in a very similar contrasting color scheme. Amazing! And I love the brushstrokes!!
An art docent needs to understand and become familiar with the elements and principles of visual art.
As time is often limited to an hour and a half, it is important to monitor the progress of the artist's portrait. They need to decide where to start, then begin to lay down paint. If they have a favorite color and are unfamiliar with brushes and the medium, you may suggest starting with the background. Help the novices mix their color in the large space in the center of the palette, making enough to cover the surrounding area. Often, with Seniors especially, the background is left blank. If the body of the subject animal is grey, that too may require mixing lots of that color in the middle of the palette.
One of our seniors spent most of her time outlining the features of her white cat and chose to limit her palette. She simply used black paint to suggest texture on the cat's coat. She carried on and used black for the front paws in shadow. The cat's tail saw the beginnings of Pointillism that had time permitted would have been an awesome technique to finish with. Because there was no paint applied to the background it made for a harmonious somewhat linear composition.
 |
White Angora Cat (1761), Bachelier
|
Another favorite of mine is this portrait of a white angora cat beautifully (oil) painted by French artist, Jean-Jacques Bachelier. Here we see a cat chasing a butterfly. The cat's fur is well-executed. Though I wouldn't want to have to brush that coat!
All one-color animals, such as white or black cats, or white, brown, or black dogs, are particularly challenging to paint. It may take time to execute the subtle shading (primarily shades of grey). As an art docent I'd recommend doing small areas at a time while the paint is still wet; this is when blending is most successful. Maybe work on the head, then body and legs. Highlights may be added later, as with the back and tail in Bachelier's painting.
 |
Two Cats Blue and Yellow
(1912), Franz Marc |
 |
Cats on a Red Cloth (1909),
Franz Marc |
20th century German Expressionist
Franz Marc captured some cats sleeping or grooming themselves. The first painting is more realistic than his second more expressive Cubist work. Can you find the mouse?
18th century English artist
Thomas Gainsborough also studied feline positions of the
Great Cat. According to the referenced link, his black-and-white chalk drawing is similar to that of another famous artist from the 15th century.
Apparently, I missed
Paul Gauguin's Flowers and Cats (1899) while visiting the
Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek museum in Copenhagen, Denmark on our cruise to the Baltics in June 2019.
Many of the world's most famous artists kept cats as pets. Here's a list:
Henri Matisse (Minouche, Coussi, and Le Puce); Pierre Bonnard (Cat);
Salvador Dali (Babou); Gustav Klimt (Katze); Georgia O’Keeffe (Siamese);
Pablo Picasso (Minou); Louis Wain (Peter); Andy Warhol (Sam); and
Wassily Kandinsky (Vaske)
We lost American artist Laurel Burch in 2007. She was famous for her bold cat designs such as those featured in one of her books, Fantastic Felines (1997). I believe we've done a jigsaw puzzle like this.
 |
| by Bill |
Many of the artists who paint the shelter animal portraits are seniors who hang out at senior centers or assisted living establishments. One such artist is Bill, whose work is reminiscent of German Expressionist, Max Beckmann. See my post entitled, '
Egyptian Art, Sculpture, and Tombs'.
Another PawsWithCause patron painted this portrait of Cai with a light green tennis ball in its mouth. The artist's style is also like Beckmann, but with more of a Surrealist vibe. The background continues with the lime green color, adding little wispy shapes much like Henri Matisse decorated his red wallpaper in his Fauvist works. The touches of blue add interest to the composition.
You may also appreciate Medford the dog, who is sporting a Dio de Los Muertos mask on his face, reminiscent of the art of Frida Kahlo or Diego Rivera. Spanish Catalan painter Joan Miró often used a black background and Whimsical shapes (like spirals) to create his abstract art with Surrealist fantasy. Notice how the brushstrokes in his blonde fur add a realism that adds an anthropomorphic touch as if the animal is celebrating a human holiday. See Pepe the Dog in my post entitled,
Making Connections with Artists & Animals.
Marlee is a good example of Realism. I especially like the artist's use of small, jagged brushstrokes, lending texture to the dog's coat. Happy accidents, like allowing the marker outline (from the original sketch) to show through, accentuate subtle features. I love the impressionistic background which further softens the overall painting. Check out the eyes with different color irises!
This portrait of Emma shows a good example of well-executed shading. The blue-gray color that the artist chose is a beautiful complement to her orangish-brown coat. Her sad eyes and overall color scheme make me think of the melancholy paintings (like "The Scream") of Norwegian Expressionist, Edvard Munch.
Many of our painting sessions, as with many of the art classes I've taught, are often too short for seniors or even younger students to complete a portrait in the allotted time. Although not common for established painters and master artists, some works are intentionally unfinished.
Gilbert Stuart created the Athenaeum Portrait of George Washington that currently hangs in the Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery. The unfinished work was used to paint 130 copies sold for $100 each and for the engraving of GW on the US $1 bill.
The only other unfinished painting I've ever seen is “An Allegory of Virtue”, attributed to Corregio (~1489-1534), which hangs in the Scottish National Gallery in Edinburgh.
