Painting a Ginger Kitten in Watercolor
It’s so much fun, and at the same time quite a challenge, to draw animals live.
Very often they’ve already turned or changed position while I’m still working on the first contour lines. Even when my dog Bodhi is quietly lounging around, you have to sketch fast: before you know it, he suddenly rolls onto his back or starts washing himself. Sometimes I continue working on a drawing while he has already shifted just a little. Eyes open, eyes closed… nothing ever stays the same. Animals simply do whatever they feel like doing.
That’s exactly what makes it such a beautiful exercise and a special experience. You learn to sketch quickly, to really look, and to continue drawing from the memory of what you’ve seen.
But when I want to create a finished watercolor painting of an animal, I almost always choose to work from a photo. That gives me the time to mix colors, add subtle nuances, and carefully paint details, without the tension of my model deciding to walk away halfway through.
In the video below you can see how I paint a ginger kitten in watercolor, based on a photo I took myself. The kitten’s surprised expression, so close to the camera lens, is a true snapshot in time — something only a camera can capture in that way. That’s exactly what made it a funny little painting for me.
If you have a pet you’d love to have captured in watercolor, you can read more about the possibilities below.
