Calico Cat Pet Portrait Painting in Oil on Canvas

My garden's first pumpkin of 2014

It's pumpkin time of year! My garden has produced its first pumpkin and pumpkins are brimming over at every farm stand. What a pleasant time to paint a pet portrait of a cat named Pumpkin!



The portrait was commissioned by a couple of collectors for a friend whose beloved kitty passed away a year ago.  She still misses her at times and they thought it would bring her fond memories. I agree.

We decide that a pumpkin in the portrait is essential, so I make a sketch. Bright chrysanthemums will add an additional bit of color. The flowers show in the sketch as hazy scribbles in the background and lower right:

To see a brief demo of how I painted the portrait read on...


First I transfer the sketch to a 6x8 inch canvas then paint a background of pumpkins and chrysanthemums with a soft blue sky. The table she was sitting on in the reference photo is transformed into a hay bale!

Once the background is completed, I begin adding color to Pumpkin's fur.

The nose, ears and eyes are next...

 Here is a close-up of her face:

Still more fur to paint...

Once the fur details are done, the painting is completed:

"Pumpkin" - pet portrait of a calico cat

My collectors tell me that Pumpkin's owners love her portrait. She was such a pleasure to paint!

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I'm happy to take custom orders. Contact me for a custom painting of your pet, home, garden, grandkids, favorite vacation spot or whatever your heart desires.
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