Black Cats aren’t just for Halloween

I’ve been painting cats of all colors.

Yes, there’s a theme this Fall and this election year. 

Don’t get me wrong. I love, love, love dogs. Actually I love gorillas and pandas and whales, and oh so many animals. 

Sketching a Newfoundland dog.

That’s how I started painting. While living in Nicaragua a few years back, I decided I wanted to paint 20 animals so I got a child’s watercolor kit and copy paper (horrible for watercolor painting) and started looking at photographs and painting. 

This month I’ve been painting pet portraits, cat pictures for my English idiom book, and politically inspired “Cat Ladies.”

Sketching cats with color pencil in my sketchbook

In my life I’ve had several wonderful cats in my household.  

1. Tilman, a Maine Coon Cat,  was my childhood pet with the loudest chill “Meow”and patient personality, 

2. Blueberry was a farm cat and repeat runaway who kept returning to my Maine home, 

3. Luna was the sweetest motherly Siamese with an expressive “Meow”,

4. Bubba Kitty, my adopted son, was a black and white fluff who loved playing in the high grass of our Hawaiian home.

5. Kramer, a tuxedo cat, was a young spazz kitty that grew into an affectionate cuddle bug.

6. Hartford, a long haired black and white cat, nicknamed Liberace, was a mama’s boy.

Black cats may be associated with Halloween, the devil, and witches. But there’s a world of cats and cat personalities waiting to be painted.

Here are some of my sketches and paintings. Cards, prints, and products are available.

I hope you’ll find something in my shop to purchase and wear in time for Elections, too!