"Three Cats on Stairs" portrait in progress 8 - Violating the rules

Making a better portrait

The cats are finished. Because of the perspective (stairs get smaller as they go farther away from you) each cat would be significantly smaller than the previous one. I made the cats closer to the size they would be to eachother in real life. That is not technically correct. But it makes a better portrait.

The perspective of the stairs is mathematically correct, each step proportionally smaller than the previous one. Your “mind’s eye” tells you therefore that the size of the cats must be proportionally correct also.

Next, the cushions on the stair steps. That’s where I’ll bring in more color.

The staircase was made with watercolor as an underpainting to give the basic forms and values. The stair details will be done over that with colored pencil. The cats were done entirely with colored pencil directly on the grey paper, and the cushions will be too. This grey gives a nice neutral base color that takes all colors of pencil very well.

“Three Cats on Stairs”

(Grace, Bonnie, and Morgan)

Commissioned by Tammy Cunningham.

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