ClemensArt

My cat Nkosi, who models for Magnus the cat in my Magnus & Loki paintings has had some problems the past few months, most notably a difficulty swallowing and a loss of weight.  Thanks to the generous donations from his fans everywhere, I was able to pay for an ultrasound of his abdomen, which showed that he had a small liver and weak kidneys.  But my vet was more concerned with his lungs and throat, so we went back for another ultrasound, x-rays and a c.t. scan, for which they were kind enough to waive the fees, since they felt it should have all been done at one time.  The results showed nodules in his lungs, which are cancer.  The vet estimated he has about four months left, and that chemtherapy at this stage of his illness would probably not do much but push back the date by a few months.  It has advanced to the point where radiation isn’t even an option.  I don’t want Nkosi to suffer, so I will be doing hospice care from this point.  We will be giving him steroids very soon, which helps reduce inflammation and will give him more of an appetite.  He is still pretty spry and wants to go out every morning into the back yard, which is walled off, to sniff around and look for lizards and squirrels.  I fuss over him a lot and brush him, which he loves.

We would not have been able to get him where he is now if not for the overwhelming kindness of fans everywhere.  With you help we have pursued every avenue open to us to diagnose his illness, and I am only sorry I don’t have better news for all of you who have shown how much you care for a little cat.  He doesn’t know about his alter ego, Magnus, and he is unaware of how many people care about him, but I do.  All I can do is say thank you, thank you, from the bottom of my heart.  I will keep you all posted.

Fuss, fuss, fiddle, fiddle.  Today is the day when I sharpen up everything until I can’t think of anything else to do to it.  A couple of weeks from now, after leaving it alone for a while, I’ll probably think of something else to add, but I kind of hope not.  Like most of the Magnus and Loki paintings, it’s pretty busy, and I don’t want to complicate things more than they already are.  Meanwhile, time to figure out what to paint next.

Hombres, finished

I started with the scarf, but then I moved on to getting the desert background working right and putting in a Roadrunner.  They’re really cool birds and every now and then I see one when I’m out walking.  I’ve painted in pebbles and stones and put shadows on them.  I’ve also painted in Loki’s horns and put silver tips on them.  I mean, why not?  But I don’t like his tail behind the wing, so I’ve moved it around to the front, which gives me the opportunity to have a little fun with it.  It, too, will have a silver tip.  I have gotten more detail work done on Loki’s boots, which have fish and sea waves.  Tomorrow should finish it up!

Hombres, day 3

Magnus’ scarf is going to be a lot of fun.  I want it to look like a traditional western scarf, but with a border of mice.  So here it is with the basic fabric painted from yesterday:

And after several hours of work, here’s the scarf with the detail stuff.  It’s worked out better than I thought.

Time to start sharpening up the details.  I’ve put Loki’s tail behind his wings, but I don’t know if I like that.  It may not show here, but I’ve done another layer of color on the sky, so now I can concentrate on everything else.  This is set in the Sonoran Desert, whose signature plant is the Saguaro Cactus, so we must have a few of them.  I tried in my sketches to draw one in a little closer to the guys, but it takes away from things and looks too busy, so I put the cacti further back.

Hombres, day 2

I decided to go with oils from the very beginning on this one.  Sometimes, as with Magnus & Loki: The Skunk Affair, I do a lot of work in acrylic because it dries quickly and lets me work faster.  This time, I wanted a more painterly feel to the background, which I can only really get with oil.  And because I paint in thin layers and I’m in Arizona where it’s bone dry, even oil will dry pretty quickly.  I try, as always, to cover the whole panel with color on the first day, so that I can get a feel for how it’s going to come out.

Hombres, 1st coat of color

I want to get the sky finished as soon as possible, so that I can paint my characters over it.  This is another good job for oil.  I’m keeping it simple and light.  Down at Magnus & Loki’s feet, I have used the toothbrush spatter technique to start doing the desert ground.  All in all, a good first day!

So, after I did the pen and ink of Hombres, I really wanted to do a painting of it.  I discussed it with the Phoenix group that is using the image on the flyer, and we all agreed that the painting should be a little different from the flyer.  So, instead of having Loki’s guns crossed with banners, I decided to put him in quick draw position instead.  Of course, many more little changes will come with the larger format and the addition of color!This is the pencil sketch on the gessoed panel, 16″ x 20″.

I was asked to do a Magnus & Loki pen and ink for the NASFIC 14 flyer, so I did the whole thing in Photoshop.  I think the boys look really goofy in western wear.

It’s been a really long time since I started this particular piece, and without going into more detail, here’s the finished piece.  I’m sorry there aren’t more step by step photos for this one.  I hope the next entry will make up for that.

I will start to work on my kittens and dragons in earnest after I get back from DemiCon.  I am delighted to be their Artist Guest of Honor this year, which means I get to check out their fair city, a place to which I have never before travelled.  So stay tuned, I will be back with more posts on the progress of the new painting, which I am tentatively titling “Who, me?”