Having to draw a kitty cat everyday is certainly not something to complain about. Although I was not always a cat lover, I have always found the form of a cat to be very beautiful and a great art subject. And now that I couldn’t imagine a life without them, they are the purrfect subject for my daily drawing challenge.
The biggest hurdle so far is finding – or making – the time to draw everyday. Some days, I’ve only had time to sketch an initial idea or two. But as long as I put pencil to paper and create something new, that is better than being stagnant and not making anything.
To make things a bit easier, I’m keeping the drawings small, either in my sketchbook or on watercolour paper that has been sized to 2.5″ x 3.5″. I will be offering these ACEO’s, which stands for Art Cards, Editions and Originals, in my shop, either as I complete them or on certain dates. I first made some of these, like the one pictured above, years ago before our kiddos were even born… and before we knew we’d be living with two ginger kitties! Working on a smaller scale was not only fun but provided a challenge to compose the piece.
Can you believe how small Sweet Chili Heat used to be? This was from a photo that must have been taken the first day or two after our first fosters arrived.
Here is the same image inked onto watercolour paper.
This is Spicy Nacho, the brother who got away.
And speaking of getting away, our newest foster, a long-haired black kitty cat named Santos, has already been adopted, just a week and a half after joining us!
His arrival was pretty smooth for him, as he headed straight to the kitchen where the food was. Little did I know that he and wet food don’t agree all that well, so he was introduced to our bathtub later that same day. I also had the pleasure of cutting out matted hair and dried poop, after picking up some dry shampoo, something I never had to do with any of our short-haired kitties. As he is still a kitten, he is still learning to groom himself properly. But after I catching him lying down and playing in the litter box a few times – something Zesty used to do when he was much younger – I was a little fed up and made this illustration.
Ironically, Santos, means saint or saintly. And personality-wise, he is the friendliest little guy. Our boys were hissing at him as soon as he was in our midst, but he paid them no heed. Only after countless attacks from Zesty did he start growling back and even then he didn’t seem to mean it.
The one thing he does is bite.
A few times Matt and I were woken up to him biting our fingers, probably because he was hungry and wanted our attention. He also bit Whitney on her face, maybe out of affection, but who knows?
There will definitely be more daily drawings of kitty cats cleaning coming. Since it is almost Chinese New Year again, I will be getting our home prepped for the Year of the Snake! Whatever lies ahead for the coming year, one thing I know to be true is that kitty cats bring such joy to my life! And who couldn’t use more joy these days?
