This activity is becoming something that not only relaxes me, but that I love to do more and more.
Remember when I painted the violin and the owl for Yamila? Well she has a sister that many of you may know here on Hive, @aibi93, and when she saw what I had done .... of course she wanted the stones for herself too.
On one of the many trips to the beach that I've been taking lately, since it's summer and I have to take advantage of it, plus I love the sea, I found the stones I was looking for.
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I wanted them to be flat and bigger than usual. To paint faces, whether human or animal, it is easier if the stones are bigger.
Of this type of rocks I find mostly dark, very dark grey, but the colour suited me perfectly.
Today is a very hot day and what better activity than painting rocks of goodness and drinking mate frio, called tereré in Argentina.
Ivana loves horror, books and cats. So I thought of a scene of reading books on a dark night with a lit candle on one side and an orange cat, as she likes it, on the other.
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The drawing of both was simple, I wanted three books one on top of the other with a flower on one side and the candle with the candelabra behind it, very scary.
And on the other stone I wanted to paint the face of a kitten, which would arouse tenderness but at the same time had green eyes like the entrance to the world of the occult.
Once the two drawings were done I started painting the books, one red, one orange and one brown, all in the range of warm colours. But the red colour on top as it is her favourite colour after black.
A pink flower decorates these books, but of course the candlelight makes it all the more inspiring for a mysterious night of reading. A cat accompanies it. It's the perfect set.
I painted the background in black and brown, very dark to highlight the edges of the books and the candle flame.
I loved the final result. It's one thing when you paint and you're inside the painting and another when you stand back and look at it from a distance, it looked different.
Then I continued with the orange cat. Faces are always the most difficult thing to paint and I created even more on a rock.
I always start with the colours, in this case the orange, skin colour and the brown, where one side of the face has more shadow than the other and where I put more brown.
Remember I told you that white fixes everything? Well that's how it is, I put white last and in this case the cat has a lot of white.
With the colours I outlined the fur and then I focused on the eyes, highlighting first the contours with brown, then putting the green in the centre and then the black pupil with the shape of a cat.
Well maybe it's not very noticeable, I must get an even finer brush for the details, I love to make the details well defined.
Once all this is done, it's the turn of the white colour. With it I could mark well the hairs in the ears, in the cheeks and draw well the nose.
I also put some brown to separate the chin from the rest of the body, although I didn't draw it.
I did the background with white and orange, always trying to highlight the cat, the background is essential to give it a proper finish.
Then it was important the word or words that define these two rocks of goodness, as I want them to always accompany Ivana in her life. She has written her own book of terror, that's why this stone is inspired by that moment and the books represent wisdom. And she is more and more full of wisdom every day.
The cat, the cat... I love cats too, so it was special for me to make this rock. They represent many things, but mystery and peace are always present. Ivana loves mystery and I think she always needs her moment of peace and her five cats always give it to her, even if they get into mischief.
I am very happy with the result of these rocks and I know they will be in very good hands. When a painter paints, his energy remains in what he does and I am happy she has part of my energy that always accompanies her. Thank you Ivana.
I wish you all an excellent day, best wishes and see you next time.
Amonet.
All photographs are my own.
