Daily Sketch: Two Cats Napping
Giuseppe had come along to settle down with his mom and as the two snuggled into and wrapped around each other they seemed to be one continuous cat. I drew them pretty much in one continuing line beginning with Mimi’s inside shoulder, only lifting when the brush seemed to be running out of ink. They settled into a pile of black fur and stayed that way for quite a while.
. . . . . . .
What else was I sketching on this date?
A Good Scratch on the Deck Rail, 2013
Mimi exercises just about every muscle in her body having a really good scratch on the deck rail this afternoon.
My cats have always loved to scratch wood, especially dry, old unfinished wood. They can really get their claws down into the grain of an old pine board and it must feel pretty satisfying.
Generations of kitties who visited the outdoors with me have loved my deck steps and railing. The entire deck is made of untreated lumber, and I’ve been careful to keep the wood clean and treated with a water-based environmentally-safe waterproofing treatment. It’s lasted me over 20 years, not counting the time before I moved in when the deck had no finish on it whatsoever, and in time the top surface of the deck rail, which sees the most weather, has begun to split between the grain.
Mimi stops to scratch at several places along the railing, but this is her favorite, possibly because it’s always been the most weathered—the cut end of the top board. She can really dig in and wrap her paws around that one!
Of course, she was very busy and moving around quite a bit so I had to fill in some of the details later, but a quick charcoal sketch captured just some of her energy. Though I sketch my cats indoors all the time, I actually associate sketching and painting outdoors with landscapes and felt myself move into that mode while working, drawing a larger image on the paper, looking at the larger picture, literally, and just feeling more free with my lines, interesting, perhaps I just felt like I had more room to move. Perhaps one of these days I’ll sketch Mimi outdoors.
. . . . . . .
Bean Line, 2012
I have a few of my more minimalistic cat drawings from college framed and hanging and stored in portfolios upstairs in my studio where I spent the weekend framing. After all the indulgence in color I am still in that space with just a few black lines on paper.
This one in particular is one black line, a continuous line to draw Jelly Bean’s outline as he sat right in front of me on my desk, dozing. I had to backtrack in a few areas around his face in order to get his profile right, and then I decided to add just the swash for his closed eye, separate from all the rest.
I can smudge pastel around and scribble with the pencil all I want, but if I can’t draw a good line then I need to practice more.
Click here to find out how you can help homeless cats and get a gift certificate!
Click here to see other daily sketches.
For a gallery of the ones available for sale, visit my Etsy shop in the “Cat Art and Prints” section.
Read about the reason for the daily sketches in Two Years of Daily Sketches.
And download your free desktop wallpaper calendar for computer or mobile, usually based on a daily sketch.
A collection of 34 images of feline artwork
Feline Style Sampler
Daily sketches, illustrations, commissioned portraits all in a small coil-bound gift book.
Click here or on the image to read more
or find this book in my Etsy shop.
Browse some rescued cats and kittens!
Subscribe to The Creative Cat e-newsletter for specials on exclusively feline-themed art and merchandise.
All images used on this site are copyrighted to Bernadette E. Kazmarski unless otherwise noted and may not be used without my written permission. Please ask if you are interested in using one in a print or internet publication. If you are interested in purchasing a print of this image or a product including this image, check my Etsy shop or Fine Art America profile to see if I have it available already. If you don’t find it there, visit Ordering Custom Artwork for more information on a custom greeting card, print or other item.
© 2014 | www.TheCreativeCat.net | Published by Bernadette E. Kazmarski
—
Weekly schedule of features:
Sunday: Essays, Pet Loss, Poetry, The Artist’s Life
Monday: Adoptable Cats, TNR & Shelters
Tuesday: Rescue Stories
Wednesday: Commissioned Portrait or Featured Artwork
Thursday: New Merchandise
Friday: Book Review, Health and Welfare, Advocacy
Saturday: Your Backyard Wildlife Habitat, Living Green With Pets, Creating With Cats
And sometimes, I just throw my hands in the air and have fun!
—
