Saturday, February 07, 2009

Fiona, Olive and Abe - final pencil sketch

Here is the final pencil sketch of another portrait I'm working on right now, Fiona, Olive and Abe the little hedge hog. ( A couple of weeks ago, I posted the first compositional thumbnails).
There are lots of details in this portrait!

Fiona, Olive and Abe are sitting in front of a window with a Magnolia tree outside. This is a spot the kitties like to lounge in at home, so we reflected that in the portrait.

The portrait border, on the vertical left and right, is made up of olive branches and cherry branches. The olive branches are symbolic of Olive, and the cherry branches and fruits were included because one of their kitty bowls has cherries on it. The border has feathers at the top and at the very bottom left and right areas of the border. The cats love to play with feather toys and this was an elegant way symbolize these favorite toys in the portrait.

Fiona holds her favorite catnip bag. This bag has a stars-and-stripes motif. I borrowed from this motif for the background, which is sprinkled with stars. Fiona is also lounging on a suitcase. This is her favorite place to lounge at home. Fiona is the "Queen Bee" kitty of the house, and as such I placed a symbolic queen bee in an inconspicuous spot on the tree.

Olive holds her favorite mouse toy and lounges on a big cushion. The pattern on the cushion has significance -- it is the pattern of Olive's favorite comforter at home. Olive's tail is big and fluffy and is often in this position, so it was fitting for the portrait.

Abe, the hedge hog, sits in the crook of Fionas tail. Abe doesn't routinely curl up in Fiona's tail at home, but Fiona's tail is often in this position, and this was a fitting way to give Abe some prominence in the portrait. Abe wears a little "Abraham Lincoln" hat, and holds his favorite ball.

More to come soon!!

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