Gray Tabby Cat Pet Portrait Oil Demonstration

A little gray tabby cat makes a sweet oil painting at size 7x5".
"Magic" was with his owner for 16 years of cuddling. He loved the occasional can of tuna as a treat, but did not care for any other treats - imagine that!
My client had this portrait painted as a gift for her husband. To see how I painted him and the completed portrait, keep reading...

Pet Portrait in Watercolor of a Cat Named Grits

Grits is a great name for a cat, especially one who weighed 22 pounds. I just finished this commission which the client is giving as a Christmas gift to her mom who lost her precious kitty this past year. Hard. But a very thoughtful idea for a gift.

Grits was adopted as an adult and was already a huge size. He had blue eyes that were slightly crossed. He was gentle and sweet. His 'mom' adored him.

Come along and watch while I paint Grits below. Or skip to the finished piece.

Cuddling Cats Pet Portrait Painting in Watercolor

It's always a delight to paint cats. I like cats and it's fun to try to replicate the softness of their fur.

I just finished a watercolor commission of two cats -  a white cat and his friend, a tabby. Read on and I'll show you how I painted these two kitties. (If you want to skip the demo, see the finished cat portrait here.)

Calico Cat Pet Portrait in Watercolor - Cleo

Having just completed a pet portrait of a calico cat in oils, it will be fun to do a different calico cat this time in watercolor.

The two pet portrait requests came at about the same time. But very different cats! Not just in looks, but in personality.

Calli was a sweet gentle kitty from a shelter. Cleo, who is the subject of this painting, was a cat with an attitude who chased dogs, swiped at her owners and was fiercely loyal to their son, greeting him and all the neighborhood kids as they got off the bus from school.

It's good to know these things when doing a pet portrait. One must know what one is working with. So let's see how I did this painting. To skip to the finished piece, click here.

Calli the Calico Cat Pet Portrait in Oil on Panel

Detail of Calli - oil painting

Pet portraits are fun to do. This portrait is of a pretty gray, tan and white calico cat named Calli who is very loving and sweet.

The client wanted her painted in oils. Since the painting is small, I painted it on archival panel smoothly coated with gesso.

Keep reading and I'll show you how I did the painting. The full pet portrait is pictured at the end of the post.

Long Haired Calico Cat pet portrait

This is Cassie, the adored pet of a friend of mine. I'd long meant to paint her picture, but just finished this 5x7 watercolor today.  She is such a pretty kitty and a very sweet one too!

After Hurricane Irene blew through here, there was not much else to do but paint for three days as there was no power. Many roads were closed as well and some that were open were really not very safe with trees hanging on the wires right over the road. So it was a great time to stay in the studio and catch up on pieces I'd been meaning to do. This is one of them. I hope Cassie likes her portrait!

I can paint a custom pet portrait of your dog or cat. See more samples of my work at ZehPetPortraits.com

Orange Tabby Cat - Watercolor demonstration

Orange tabby cats must be well-loved pets. This is the second in a row that I've painted. I'll show the steps I took to paint this memorial portrait. (If you don't see the rest of this post, look for the Read More link below)

Tabby Cat Pet Portrait Watercolor Demonstration

Woody, the model for this portrait, was a beautiful orange tabby cat with amazing green eyes. His owners requested the portrait in honor of his memory. I'll show you how I painted his portrait.

I begin with selecting a few of the photos that seem to be a good representation of the animal. You can see three of them at the left. I will work from those.
I draw the image first on drawing paper until I'm satisfied with it, then transfer to watercolor paper.
Once that is done, I wash in a soft background and start adding shadows to the shadow side of the face and body.

Three Cats Pet Portrait Demonstration Oil Painting

This pet portrait is a 5"x7" oil painting on panel.

In this demonstration, I'll talk a bit about how I use poses to show the cat's personalities.

The person who belongs to these three cats sent in many pictures so I had lots to choose from to do this portrait. You can see some of the pictures I am working with pasted up around the painting.
She likes blue and green, so I start with some of those colors in the background.

Tabby Cat pet portrait

Here is another portrait that I finished for a client in time for Christmas, though there are still a few post-Christmas portraits to do as well.

I did this painting of a cat on panel at 10"x 8" size. It was especially enjoyable to paint this soft kitty against a softly-colored background.

She enjoys sitting on a cushion and looking out the window, so I placed her in that environment to do the portrait. Here is the background painted in and the beginnings of the cat's fur.

It always makes such a big difference once the eyes are painted.  She has such beautiful green eyes.

I have extended the curtain above her so that it visually connects rather than leaving it as a disconnected entity at the top of the painting.

In the finished piece below, you will see that I enlarged it further and darkened it behind her so that she would stand out more from the background.

 

Here is Mosa's portrait finished. The client told me she is a sweet and loving cat. She does look sweet, doesn't she, as if she's waiting for you to pet her?

 

Do you have a beloved pet you'd like painted? Check out the details here, ZehPetPortraits.com or contact me. 

Pet Portrait Demonstration in Watercolor of a Long-haired Cat

The cat who posed for this portrait is just delightful. There were so many fun photos sent by the client that it was tough to chose which one to use!

I finally decided on a head and chest pose in order to focus on her incredible eyes.

To start, I painted the background a deep burgundy as that was one of the colors the client suggested. If the background colors are in first, I can adjust the mixed grays of the cat to go with the background much better than if I'd waited to put it in last.

Normally I don't do the eyes right away, but these eyes were just too hard to resist! Right now she reminds me of an owl!

Calico Long-hair Cat - oil portrait

Here is a finished portrait of a long haired calico cat done in oils at size 11x14. It was fun to include the designs on the kitty couch. She looks comfortable lying there!

Do you have a beloved pet you'd like painted? Check out the details here, ZehPetPortraits.com or contact me. 

Calico Cat Pet Portrait

 

So many orders for commission paintings have come in that I am almost totally booked until Dec. 25, and will need to work hard to keep up with them! So I have had to put my daily paintings aside for now.

Here is a commission I am working on right now. A pet portrait of a sweet little "princess".  She sleeps on a red and gold brocade cushioned couch and eats from a crystal bowl. 

Above you can see all the photos of her that I've taped at the top of the easel for reference. To the left is the Pet Portrait questionnaire filled in by the client. This gives me extra details that I can refer to in order to get the personality and exact colors.

Click here for the post with the finished cat portrait.

Cat in a Flower Garden - Watercolor Painting

In this scene, a black and white shorthair cat snoozes on a brick wall oblivious to the beauty surrounding her. What an abundance of petunias, black-eyed Susans, foxglove, and other flowers all blooming at once. That wall looks like a nice place to sit with a good book, but you might have to move the kitty.

• This painting has been sold.

Black & White Short-hair Cat, "Miss Alice" - Watercolor Painting

This delightful kitty was rescued from a shelter by some kind-hearted folks whom I know when she was a kitten. They had intended to only foster her until a home could be found, but she won their hearts and she's found a permanent home with them. Though they soon discovered Alice is deaf, she exhibits some very amazing behavior for a cat.
First of all, Alice loves her cat carrier and runs to the door when she sees someone about to go out. She wants to go for a ride in the car too! Does this cat realize she's a CAT?? It gets better... If someone in the household takes a shower, Miss Alice jumps right in. She gets herself all soaking wet, purring all the while the warm water pours over her. Then, she totally expects to be blow dried and brushed. That's when Alice seems like she's in heaven!
This is not like any cat I know. My own freaked when exposed to water or a cat carrier. But Alice is a special cat. Anyone who ever meets her at once feels the calm and warmth this kitty exudes. What a good thing it is that she was rescued!

• This painting has been sold.
  
  

Tabby Cat

I've been recently working on some pet portraits of dogs. They are great fun and I love dogs, but deep down, I'm a cat person at heart. This tabby is doing what cat's do best - nap. What a life! Get up in the morning. Yawn and stretch with the back end up in the air - waggle the tail a bit. Then leisurely pad over to the kitchen to check what's in the food bowl. Maybe hungry for it, maybe not. Well, maybe a bite or two. Clean up the paws a bit. Now the ears. Oh, what the heck, maybe a full head to tail. That's done. Oh my, that was work, time for a nap! Cat's are great eaters and sleepers. A house cat has nothing much else it has to do. But, given a chance, they are terrific hunters too.
This tabby is a house cat, but the black and white I had, Lucy, would go outside. She kept the entire two acres free of moles, most of the mice and the flying squirrels that liked to get into the attic. She'd listen for these nocturnal squirrels at night. (I'd keep her in at night). They'd glide from the eaves to an oak trunk near the house. During the day, Lucy would practice jumping onto that tree just at the spot where they'd land. If she happened to be out at dusk, she'd sit still as a stone at the base of the tree and when a squirrel would fly out of the eaves, she'd be right at that spot to greet it. I can't tell you how she managed to do that.
Anyway, even though Lucy is no longer with us, we still have no squirrels in the attic, no moles in the lawn, and I think the stray that comes around for a bowl of food keeps the mice away. Cat's are great!

Do you have a sweet pet you'd like painted? Click here: ZehPetPortraits.com for details or contact me.