Painting from photos

Time and time again I've heard the pros and cons of painting from photos.

Personally I think that the camera can be a useful tool and as long as you don't just copy a photo slavishly, it can help remind you of how a subject looks when you're back in the studio.

In the case of "Blackie" on the left, this commission came from a lady whose cat I had never met so I had no option.

She sent me several photos of her, gave me hints as to her personality and said that she would like to me to add some Middle Eastern details in the picture.

I pinned the photos all around my drawing board so that I wouldn't just paint from only one. This gave a much more natural feeling to the painting, just as if she had been sitting in front of me.


Some of my own "props" in the form of locally made kilim cushions gave colour to the painting and I added the red curtain on the right to take the viewer's eyes around the picture.

I was told that Madame Blackie approved of her portrait!

Painted table

All my life I've had pets. I grew up in a family of animal-lovers and wherever I've lived there's always been at least one cat and/or dog as an important part of the household.

I also like interior decor so sometimes there's a clash of interests - such as why does a cat always choose a rug on which to deposit a hairball rather than the tiled floor beside it?

Or ignore the cat scratching post and attack the corner of the sofa?

Why do the dogs always have to jump up at the closed door as I'm getting ready to put on their leashes prior to going for a walk, leaving deep gouges in the paintwork?

I love my four-legged kids dearly which is why I tend to sigh and accept it rather than get angry.

The top of the dining table in the picture above is an example of how to get around the problem.

An attractive table runner was laid across it when we weren't eating but it would get covered with cat hairs as my little furballs loved to sit on it and gaze out of the window. Or it would end up on the floor during a game of kitty wrestling.

The idea came to my mind that if I painted a fake cloth onto the table top I'd just be able to wipe it over and as it was only made from cheap wood, I wasn't worried about spoiling a beautiful wood grain.

I first gave it a good sanding to remove old polish and varnish then used a good strong acrylic base coat to ensure the paint would adhere.

The entire surface was painted in a white, super-tough acrylic wall paint and when it was thoroughly dry I sketched in the basics of the cloth with a pencil.

Using Liquitex acrylics in shades of brown I painted in the woodgrain around the edges, then applied two thick coats of a creamy beige for the cloth.

To give it the look of woven fabric I laid the first coat horizontally and the second vertically. I painted in the tassels next on top of the "wood", arranged unevenly so that they would look natural.

I cut a stencil for the design on the "cloth" to ensure that the pattern would be uniform, using acrylics and a very dry brush so that the paint would not seep underneath.

To give the final touch of realism I added a darker brown transparent shadow at the edges of the cloth and under the tassels.

Finally it was given two thin coats of a good quality matte acrylic household varnish.

And the kitties played happily on it ever after!