Brothers by the Window

Brothers by the Window -acrylic painting by Heni Sandoval

Brothers by the Window is my new painting. A few months ago, I rearranged the furniture in our living room placing a side table in front of the big window and it soon became a favorite hang out for our kitties. I placed a pillow there which Truffle enjoys. Tuxie will sometimes join him by sitting on the edge but he tends to look a bit irritated at Truffle having more space. It also makes Truffle a bit nervous but he holds his ground. I tried to show this dynamic in the painting.

I took a picture with the boys together and sent it to my daughter who loves to get daily updates on the cats. We both noticed how striking it was with the light outside and the dark interior and I thought to myself, here’s the subject for a new painting. Mom’s birthday was last week; I generally do a still life painting around this time of year in her honor, and so I began the new still life with the cats.

It was a fun and challenging painting to do. I wanted the interior to be dark but also light enough to show off the beautiful antique table. I included the houseplants on either side of the cats to show the warm tropical greenery in contrast to the cold winter day outside. I’m getting better at depicting Tuxie who has interesting asymmetric markings on his face making it challenging to get his looks down. I’m glad to be back to painting and have started a new one that I’m working on this weekend.

The Sea Goat

 

The Sea Goat – acrylic painting by Heni Sandoval

After my last two paintings which were somewhat dark, I felt like choosing a more lighthearted and whimsical subject.  With the festive holiday season in full swing I decided to paint the mythical sea goat constellation Capricornus.

On the Winter solstice which marks the shortest day of the year in the northern hemisphere, the sun moves into the astrological sign of Capricorn.   It’s symbol is the sea goat.  The goat is sure-footed and steady as it slowly climbs up the mountain while the fish tail represents the depths of the sea.  Taken together it represents a mature individual who uses both their reasoning and intuition.

In this painting, the sea goat is floating in the sky over the mountain tops enjoying the festive winter night.  It’s gotten very cold here, feels like winter.  Our daughter gets home for her winter break in a few days and we’re so looking forward to seeing her and spending time with friends and family.  Hope everyone is enjoying this magical season.

Fawn and Stars

Fawn and Stars – acrylic painting by Heni Sandoval

Fawn and Stars is one of my earlier paintings.  I’ve always liked primitive feel and abstract look of it. The colors remind me of this time of year as the nights get longer.  I’ve used the image as a winter holiday card in my Circles Round the Sun Etsy shop.

It’s been a very busy season, my daughter who is in her senior year of high school, is applying to collages and recently had a German exchange student stay with her for two weeks.  It was such a pleasure having her here with our family but very hectic with all their activities going on.  My husband has been working nonstop for a big deadline coming up in a few days and I’ve been planning a neighborhood artist open house for December.  In a few days we will be traveling to my sister’s home for Thanksgiving.  I’m so looking forward to being with family and also relaxing for a bit.  Happy Thanksgiving to those in the States!