First Time Painting a Cat
109Gizmo the cat, oil on paper. As you can surely tell, I am quite an inexperienced painter. I'm still trying to "learn the ropes" of portrait oil painting, which is very much a trial by error situation. I have made some improvement though, which I credit to lots of repetition. All of these paintings though, aside from one attempt at a landscape, have been portraits of people.
I finally decided to branch out a bit and attempt to paint our family cat, who is a very large and furry ragamuffin. We had long promised the kids they could get a cat once we got into a house, and after lots of research (especially by our oldest), this is the type we went for. He lives up to his breed's reputation for a dog-like personality. This cat absolutely loves the kids and wants nothing more than to hang out with his people. Bizarrely, he has also somehow become obsessed with Cheetos...we don't feed him any, but if he smells a Cheeto, he flips out like it's catnip.
Anyhow, here's my very first painting of an animal. I figured it would be a bit rough as I learn how to depict fur using paint. I've drawn animals using pencil, but that's naturally more precise and lends itself to fine hair. Trying to lean into impressionistic "here's a block of lighter color" styles doesn't work as well for cats it seems. Or at least, I don't yet have the experience to make it work. But not a bad first attempt! I need to get him with his eyes fully open next time.
💻For more artwork by Jon Amdall, check out Amdall Gallery at https://jonamdall.com/
Colors Used:
⬛️ Raw Umber (Gamblin 1980)
⬜️ Titanium White (Utrecht Studio)
🟨 Yellow Ochre (Gamblin 1980)
🟥 Cadmium Red Hue (Utrecht Studio)
🟥 Alizarin Crimson (Utrecht Studio)
🟧 Blush (Gamblin 1980)
🟫 Burnt Umber (Utrecht Studio)
🟫 Burnt Sienna (Utrecht Studio)
🟦 Ultramarine Blue (Utrecht Studio)
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