I created this watercolor for @AIMR’s husband as a surprise. She mentioned he likes black cats and I’ve been wanting to work on my fur technique and creating more realistic complex animals anyway…so what the heck.
This little guy is 5x7" and took me around eight and a half hours from start to finish. It’s the longest I’ve spent on a watercolor so far and I think some of my best work. Though not perfect. Still, I’m really happy with the way the fabric looks and the texture of the fur and subtle color blends on the kitten. Painting a black cat with decent detail was a challenge!
In the last step I deepened the shadows, added some highlights, and muted the squares on the quilt a bit to make the fabric look more realistic and to keep focus on the cat.
Gorgeous! Black animals are so hard because you almost have to work in reverse and do highlights instead of shadows. This is sooooo cute! You captured its sweetness and softness.
Wow! You did such a great job on this whole piece! The fur looks excellent and the highlights and shadows are spot on! I’m especially impressed by all the little crinkles and wrinkles in the quilt behind the cat. It gives the true impression of the fabric being pulled down by the weight of the cat. And those paws, the face…seriously all of it, super well done!
I thought the thumbnail was showing a quilt piece. With a cat showing off all its beans on it. (I mean, that’s what my photo rolls are full of)
The process pics are great. I especially love the first one. I’d hang that.
But yeah, realism✔️
Congratulations! Your awesome Afternoon Napping Kitty is a Featured Project this week!