Featured Daily Sketch: Four Cats A-Bathing, 2013

August 13, 2025 Bernadette

watercolor and pencil sketch of four cats bathing. — “Four Cats A-Bathing”, watercolor and pencil, 11.5″ x 6″ © Bernadette E. Kazmarski

This was another iteration of the amazing cat pile on the kitchen table from today (2013). I wanted a loose watercolor with sketchy pencil lines drawn into it to define the shapes a little more and to describe the activity, that constant movement of all four at once as they bathe themselves and each other as if there are no edges, no space between one sibling and another.

I used watercolor for its loose transparency and the wide strokes of the brush to keep it loose. I used pencil rather than my usual black ink drawing pen because I wanted the varied line of pencil, the width, texture, shape, feeling it also helps describe the action. I like how pencil sketches capture movement with a varied line and a series of lines.

It’s really just a few marks on paper, but it’s about five minutes of total focus to get the basics down in watercolor, then wait for it to dry and try to keep the same freedom when I add the pencil.

And it seemed we needed some more orange cats for all the orange ones who need a little assistance! I was actually picturing this in brown but decided to go with an orange-brown, like a burnt sienna, that I mixed and turned out to be closer to the color I was envisioning anyway.

Daily Sketches 2011 to 2015

I think I accomplished what I'd set out to do three years ago today, a challenge to me and entertainment and enjoyment for you: to create a quick sketch of my cats each day as a way to practice and experiment, and present the sketch on that day with no editing, no waiting, no excuses, just to do the sketch and share it.

Read more about the reason for the daily sketches in Daily Sketches: the Idea, Most Popular, Awards.

Click here to see other daily sketches.

For a gallery of the ones available for sale, visit Portraits of Animals in the “Daily Sketches” section.

"Feline Style Sampler" book of sketches and portraits.

A collection of 34 images of feline artwork

**The award-winning* Feline Style Sampler**

Now in its third printing since 2013! 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 on Portraits of Animals.

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*Certificate of Excellence, Cat Writers' Association 2014 Communications Contest

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Copyright

All images and text used on this site are copyrighted to Bernadette E. Kazmarski unless otherwise noted and may not be used without my written permission, although links to your site are more than welcome and are shared. Please ask if you are interested in using and image or story in a print or internet publication. If you are interested in purchasing a print of an image or a product including it, check my animal and nature website Portraits of Animals 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.