Lola's Identity

This is an artwork of my cat Lola, and her identity as I see her. In this artwork the main focus is on the drawing of her with the coffee painted over it. I chose to use coffee as it would add more color to my final piece and make the texture of her fur more noticeable and realistic. When planning I also experimented on using watercolor which is used on the drawing of her collar on the bottom right and also the painting on the far right. The painting shows how Lola is a black cat and I used a white pencil to sketch out a few streaks of fur to give to background paint volume. The light blue watercolor on Lola’s collar stands out because it is bright and the outline with fine liner pen to make it even bolder. The last drawing I drew used tone to create curtains. Lola loves watching everything happen outside and is very observant, so lying on the cool tiles but also warm sitting in the curtains is the perfect spot for her. I just used a pencil and a smudge stick to individually draw and shade each curtain drape. Lastly, I took photographs of Lola when she wen hunting in our backyard and brought back a gecko, which she was very proud of. The other photo was of Lola on the balcony in the evening when the sunset was at its peak and looked beautiful. When I took the photo of the sunset she looked back, and I saw the perfect photo opportunity.

The techniques I used for this piece were mainly tone and texture, with the curtains and the texture of her fur. I used bold lines as well as soft, and touches of color and blending. The tools I used were a led pencil for majority of them, but also coffee, watercolor, and a fine liner pen. My phone was also used to take the two photos.

The process first started by trying to sketch Lola for the first time. This was one of the first planning pages I have in my journal and includes a reflection. I then did an artist analysis on Michelangelo and his bare sketches to help me get an idea and use his techniques to make my work better. Following his use of techniques, I worked on drawing cat fur by using videos and tutorials which helped me improved from my first sketch. I always have wanted to use watercolor in an artwork, so I first experimented techniques in circles along my page to paint, then painted Lola and her collar. Finally, I drew my curtain drawing and painted coffee over watercolor paper to then sketch Lola onto. I believe I did achieve my goal and it turned out exactly how I wanted it to. I have developed so many new skills and techniques which will help me if I ever want to draw Lola or another animal again.