Monday, August 24, 2009

Wicked Black Cat

I've just finished a new painting illustration on paper featuring a black cat with the word, "Wicked". I'm happy with the results and hope it pleases others as well because it's inspired by a couple of my all time favorites. Animator Chuck Jones was an expert at creating expressive felines for Warner Brothers cartoons and he's close to being a hero of mine. His fun characters may have been inspired by the work of Th̩ophile Alexandre Steinlen who is most famous for his black cat poster commonly known as, "Le Chat Noir" or "Tourn̩e du Chat Noir". Steinlen (1859 Р1923) was a textile designer but became well known as an illustrator who created cabaret advertisements of music hall performers and his signature cats. Both artists had a good time portraying felines in art, as I did with "Wicked Black Cat".

My painting, shown at left, is done on acid free 110 lbs paper, and is painted with various acrylic paints, including a blue metallic that has a mild sparkle sheen for a magic touch. The image began as a playful monoprint, where wet paint strokes were applied to a piece of glass and then the paper was placed on top. This method creates fun, random background papers for me to later work into more refined art. The original may currently be available but here's a fun variety of Zazzle products featuring this image too including t-shirts, coffee mugs, poster prints, plus both blank note cards and special Halloween greeting cards.




*Original art images ©Tree Pruitt, unless otherwise indicated. Contact the artist prior to ANY use or for purchase information.