Irresistible Rio

Here's my next cat drawing, little Rio.  This drawing is smaller than Binky, about 4" x 5".  I drew Binky on Stonehenge drawing paper, and this one on Strathmore Mixed Media paper.  This paper seems softer than the Stonehenge but I like the textures equally.

In the past I've combined graphite and water media, but if I put down the graphite first I have to protect it with fixatif before I apply the water media or else it will smudge.  But putting down fixatif under the water media would negate the purpose of using the mixed media paper.  So I guess the solution would be to put down a very light outline of pencil - just enough to serve as a guide - then add watercolor washes, then proceed to the graphite detail.  I'll have to try that.

Meanwhile, back to Rio.  I added just a hint of color to his eyes (as I did to Binky's)  This time I remembered to incise the whiskers everywhere, but they don't much show on the right side because of the highlights and Rio's light-colored coat.

When I photographed and cropped the drawing, I see that I didn't get an even line at the lower edge, so I'll have to fix that.

The bottom line with Rio is that getting back to drawing is truly a joy.  Working only with line and value is a challenge, but a very rewarding one.