From Sketch to Finish No. 1: Kitty Cat

Pussycat, pussycat, where have you been? 
I've been to London to visit the Queen.

I've never drawn a house cat before. Isn't that strange? For each new thing one draws, there is a bit of a learning process. You think you know how a thing looks, so you draw it and realize quickly that you didn't really know. 

Then, you find reference photos and accidentally spend three hours looking at cute kittens on google. 

Next, you draw more cats that may or may not look like your reference photos. But, you start to really see what a cat is about. 

 

Then, you start playing with shapes as you adapt your kitty to your own style, hoping against hope these atrocious pictures will never appear online. The expression "There are many ways to skin a cat" should have been "There are many ways to butcher a drawing of a cat."

But, eventually, something nice happens on your page, so you keep it and keep on sketching.

 

Finally, you grow tired of sketching, pull out your canvas, and work out the rest of your snags and tangles with paint, which can be layered to hide your less successful moments. I think he turned out pretty solid in the end:

  I think I shall have to draw more cats. I'm allergic to and suspicious of the real thing, but they are rather attractive animals. Happy Paint Party Friday!

Another cat I made from these sketches. This guy's already in my shop as a super cute postcard.