Drawing Cats is not easy. They are fluffy, they are stoic, and capturing their personality is a tough job.
First published February 3, 2024 I started this week’s Artventure on the web, searching for cat painting tutorials. I thought there would be a ton, and there were quite a few, but the cat I want to draw is called a “tortie”. Torties are the cats that are mostly dark colors (not really black) with some goldish stripes that can only be seen when the light hits them.
It is a commission for someone whose dogs I have already painted. So even though I have never drawn a cat, I want this patron to love this cat pic as much as my previous paintings.
Since I could not find a cat painter specializing in torties, I stumbled onto Jean Haines, who wrote a blog about watercolor painting her cat, which is kind of a tabby, I think. Jean’s post is on wetcanvas.com, which is a part of Artists’ Network. It does not cost anything to join Wet Canvas, though, so I eagerly signed up to see what kind of tutorials are available there.
This was my first time reading a blog as a tutorial, with sketches to illustrate the process. I found it very useful, and much easier to follow than some of the video tutorials I have participated in . I could scroll back up and re-read a section if I got into trouble working on my piece. Didn’t have to hit the pause button or rewind 🙂 ) Jean gives good instructions on what colors to mix and how to apply wet on wet.
She also gives lots of general advice on using watercolors, which is always useful to me.
She has so far done three different cats in this post, located here. (Don’t forget, you may not be able to get to the site until you join Wet Canvas.) I will definitely be exploring more of the resources there!
And thanks, Jean, for providing such great content! Here is a picture of my first watercolor version of my brother’s cat, Bones:
I think I captured Bones’ stoic look (he is a cat who lives with two big dogs, after all!). But I need more practice and this probably will not be the one I show to my patron. But it is a great starting point, and Jean’s advice helped a great deal!
And, since I am never satisfied with trying only one medium, here is the same cat in soft pastels on tan charcoal paper:
And here is Bones in Inktense colored watercolor pencils:
This is a great way to get practice in multiple mediums. I am not exactly thrilled with any of these, so I will most likely try the watercolor again. Which one shows the most promise to you? (Let me know in the comments.)
Happy Artventures this week…