"Three Cats on Stairs" portrait in progress 10 - A tool with a story

Tools of the trade

Some tools I use often when laying out my pieces, but rarely while I'm working on the artwork: a “T-square” and a triangle. This T-square has a story. My first job, when I was out on my own at 18, was a trainee graphic artist working for a design firm in southern California. There was a commercial printer next door. A good quality T-square this size is expensive. The printer who purchased it said it was out of square 1/8 of an inch in 6 feet. That was 1/8 inch more than he could tolerate. So he sold it to me cheap. It may be out of square 1/8 inch, but it has served me well for 50 years.

(But yeah, sometimes I do notice that it's not precisely square…)

The triangle is almost that old too.

I need these tools today as I'm working on the parallel lines of the wooden moldings on the face of each stair tread. I used them also when I was laying out the perspective lines of the staircase for this artwork at the beginning.

“Three Cats on Stairs”, in progress.

(Grace, Bonnie, and Morgan)

Commissioned by Tammy Cunningham.

🎨 Prismacolor pencil and watercolor on “Flannel Grey” Canson Mi-Teintes paper. 20 x 26 inches.