A painterly experiment

I just finished painting two small portraits of cats that share a home but are not biological sisters.  They belong to a good friend of mine.  I thought, since she wanted the little 6" x 6" size, that I'd try working on both at once.  It just didn't work for me!

The two girls could not be more different.  Riley, as in Life of, is a black and white long hair.  She's very quiet, almost shy, and tends to be delicate.  Grace, so named in hopes it would bring her some, is a short haired multi colored girl, sturdier in build and tougher in attitude.  Rumor has it that she beats up on her more retiring sister periodically.

The idea that one canvas could be drying while I worked on the other seemed smart, but I didn't factor in that I tend to get, well involved with each critter I paint.  I like to know their names and their personalities and we talk while I paint.  I found that I'd get quiet, feeling gentle when working on Riley.  Then I'd turn to Grace and just couldn't pull up enough oomph for her.  Then I'd settle into Grace for a bit, try to go back to Riley and overwhelm her with brush strokes too quick and rough for her.

So, I set Grace aside and decided to focus on just Riley - she being the first of the two to join my friend's home.  Better, much better.  When Riley was almost done, I brought Grace front and center and found she was ready to cooperate also.  All that was left was finishing touches.

The girls are done on the same background so they can be placed together.  They can face one another or be back to back, depending on their mood.  

I'll be seeing their human this weekend and can't wait to give these to her.