Bobcat in Soft Pastel
All material © Kay Witt. All rights reserved. No part of this material may be reproduced in any form by any means without prior written permission of the author.
Introduction
This project can be painted on beige or light grey velour paper. It can be purchased through
many art suppliers. The paper is made by Hahnemuhel, a German manufacturer. It can be
purchased from Dick Blick or Jerry's Artarama in the United States.
The project uses NuPastel hard pastels and Rembrandt soft pastels. Some projects also use
French made Giraults soft pastels. Oil pastels are not suitable for this method of painting on
velour paper.
A color chart of all the pastels used in the project is included. It will help guide you to know
what color to place in your painting and aid you in matching colors, if the particular brands
mentioned are not available to you. The pencils listed are made by Conte and should be available
on the web.
When transferring your line drawing to the velour paper, use transfer paper. BE CAREFUL
NOT to press hard, as it will dent the velour paper which is very soft. Once the paper is dented, it
will be nearly impossible to remove. It is recommended that you experiment with this method
prior to beginning your final project.
You will find a series called “An Introduction to Pastels” on my website that are free. Just follow
this link:
https://kaywitt.com/video/courses/introduction-to-pastel-painting-on-velour
These will give you further assistance in the method of painting used in this project.
Feel free to email me at
[email protected]
with any questions you may have to help
you through this process. You are also encouraged to attend one of my workshops listed on my
website at www.kaywitt.com given at my Virginia studio.
Bobcat in Soft Pastel on Velour
All material © Kay Witt. All rights reserved. No part of this material may be reproduced in any form by any means without prior written permission of the author.
This photographic image is available free from Pixabay.
Transfer the drawing to a 9 x 12 sheet of beige (or grey) velour paper with black carbon paper or a graphite transfer paper. Don’t press too hard so as not to dent your paper with the pencil. After transfer, draw in your subject carefully with 9B Graphite
Pencil to make sure all your liner are visible.
Take time to really look at your reference and get to know your subject. Observation is key to a good painting.
Using a 6B Charcoal Pencil, add all the dark areas you will need to guide you thru the painting. Outline the eyes and nose and also place the dark areas in the ears and spots on the face. These will show thru the subsequent layers of pastel as you go along. Likewise use the White Charcoal
Pencil (WCP) to add a few white
hairs in the ears and on the outside edges of the cat where his fur meets the background. Keep in mind that the WCP will show thru the pastel and cannot be erased. Don’t be too heavy handed when applying it.
Basecoat
Using 704.7R (Light Grey) lightly crosshatch a layer of grey all over the cat avoiding the eyes and nose.
To add the brown in the coat, break off a small piece of a
NuPastel stick 283 (Van Dyke Brown) and sand the side
smooth (wipe off any dust). Using the side of the stick apply color over the bridge of the nose and the rest of the cat’s face (avoid the areas that will be white, the eyes and nose). To darken and brighten the color a bit, use a 223NP (Burnt
Umber).
Darken the shadow areas of the white fur under the chin and in the ears with dark grey, 704.3R (Dark
Grey) and 259NP (Dark Grey). Use a 353NP (Cordovan), 223NP (Burnt Umber)
and 538.5R (Mars
Violet) to add dark
brown areas on the face and on the back of the bobcat. Weave the colors together to create a brindle appearance.
Eyes
Outline eyes with 305NP (Spruce
Blue). Over the blue add 229NP (Black) and a touch of 353NP (Cordovan) which is found in the
corners and under the bottom eyelid. Also add the 305NP (Spruce Blue) on the ear tufts and over that a layer of
229NP (Black). The blue under the
black adds interest to the black. Otherwise black is flat and dead in color.
Add black to the inner ears where they are darkest. Continue to build up the dark areas in the cat.
Basecoat the eyes with 308NP (Palm
Green) evenly applying color to the irises. Highlight the rim of each eye with 235NP (Light Blue) and use 259NP (Dark Grey) to darken the bottom of the rims. Use 353NP (Cordovan) to add dark brown color
above the pupils, under the eyelids. Darken the upper irises under the lids further with 229NP (Black) and also darken the pupils. Put some 353NP (Cordovan) around and close to the pupils. Add 233NP
(Raw Sienna) to the very bottom of each iris and stroke upward slightly toward each pupil. Use 348NP (Endive) to add bright highlights at the bottom of the irises. Use a 207NP (Chrome Yellow) or a Conte Pencil #14 to add light strokes (stroking up towards the pupils) to brighten the eyes a bit more. Add
brightest highlight with 211NP (White). Use a Conte#29 to add a reflected light from the sky across the top and to the left of the highlight on the pupils.
Paint the nose with 416NP
(Dark Rose).
Cover evenly. Then use the
259NP (Dark Grey) to shadow the nose as shown and highlight with 286NP (Madder Pink) on the
edges at the top and the rims of the nostrils. Add a little 305NP (Spruce Blue) at the top and darken the nostrils with 229NP (Black).
Background
The background is painted with a variety of colors. Basecoat the entire area with 709.7R (Green Grey). We will use a combination of different colors to create a beautiful, vibrant background to set off the Bobcat.
I used 570.7R (Thalo Blue), 508.5R (Prussian Blue) which is a dark blue, 704.3R (Dark Grey) and 538.5R
(Mars Violet) for the base layer over the green. These are medium to dark colors. You can use some or
all of these.
For light colors I use a pink, 372.8R (Permanent Red), and over some of the pink areas I used the 286NP
(Madder Pink) to lighten the area creating a glow. I also used a lovely lavender, 548.7R (Blue Violet) and
in some places a touch of 570.9R (Lt Thalo Blue).
I applied them lightly, crosshatching back and forth to create an even application. I also kept the corners dark so the eye would not be drawn out of our picture. I used a little 700.5R (Black) in the corners as needed.
Final Hairs
Starting in the ears, use the 211NP (White) to add the hairs on the outside of the right ear first and then add the longer hairs on the right side that curve inward across the ear. Use 229NP (Black) to add in more dark between the hairs if needed.
Work down the face (on the right side) using short strokes of 211NP (White) and 299NP (Light Grey) to add the white hairs on the face. Use the 299NP (Light Grey) under the eye. Use Conte Pencil #47 to add short cream colored hairs to the top of the nose. Use 353NP (Cordovan) to add the dark brown hairs and use 223NP (Burnt Umber) to add in some short strokes to add a middle tone and add variety to the fur. Weave the colors together. Use the WCP and the 6B Charcoal Pencil to add additional hairs as
Using the bottom, blunt end of the
229NP (Black) add a variety of dark
shapes to the body of the bobcat. Using the 276NP (Buff) add light hairs on the far right side, outside edge of the left ear. Use Conte Pencil #47 to add hairs on the face and muzzle area. Add hair on the left side of the face with
211NP (White) using short hairs and
following the direction of the fur
growth. Turn your paper as necessary so that your hand is comfortable while adding the hairs.
Complete the left side of the bobcat by adding the short hairs on the face with 211NP (White). Sharpen your stick often to get the nice thin hairs. Use the 299NP (Light Grey) under the eye. Use Conte Pencil
#47 to add short cream colored hairs to the top of the nose. Use 353NP (Cordovan) to add the dark
brown hairs and use 223NP (Burnt Umber) to add in some short strokes to add a middle tone and add variety to the fur. Weave the colors together.
Deepen the shadows under the chin with the 9B Graphite Pencil if they aren’t quite dark enough. It will add a light grey value to the white hair. Use a 229NP (Black) to add any additional black hair to the bobcats face.
Back
Using the sharp edges of the 283NP (Van Dyke Brown) and 223NP (Burnt Umber) to add the brown hairs to the back of the bobcat (on the left side). These pastels add a nice medium value fur to the back. Use 233NP (Raw Sienna) to add a lighter color of hair.
Use the 211NP (White) to add a few white hairs to his back. Use the sanded, flat side of the 700.5R
(Black) on the back of the bobcat to fade it into the background. Use just on the outside of the back.
Use the 229NP (Black) to add the tuft on the top of the ears. Use the sharp edge to do this or use your
6B Charcoal Pencil. Add the whiskers with the WCP or use the very sharp edge of the 211NP (White).
