So I took a bit of a break from the latest cat painting to do some work on the diptych paintings I am doing for my best friend.

Alicia, if you actually check this... DON'T LOOK!  :)

I'm a horrible friend.  We decided last year to do a piece of artwork as our present for each other.  She gave me a beautiful hand-painted mask.  I started a painting for her, but it went bad.  VERY BAD.  So, I'm doing the diptych paintings for her - one painting for last year, one for this year.  LOL!  Thank God I have a wonderful and very understanding best friend.  :)

I still have more work to do on these paintings, but it's off to a good start.  The background has a subtle golden shimmer to it that I just love and the sides are painted the same dark brown as on the design below.  I have to touch up some of the brown, then on the whirls and flowers and birds, I'll be adding flourishes of the burnt orange and gold from the background.

I think tomorrow after the Thanksgiving get-together with my family, I'll be settling down and working some more on both this painting and the one of the cat on the woman's head.  I really, really want to get the cat's face painted and then I need to sit down and get the woman's face painted.  I did an initial layer of the skin tone, but it just didn't come out right.  Hoping the second times the charm!

Wishing you all a very happy Thanksgiving!

Julie