Project 3: Domestic Longhair

One night I came home and found a young, fluffy-haired cat on our back porch, hungry and asking for help. We fed her and, of course, she stayed. She grew into a plump, not-too-bright but sweet cat with a plumed tail, named Marcie.

Reference Photo

1 Establish the Form

With a pencil, lightly draw the kitten onto your panel, using a kneaded eraser to make corrections. Use Payne’s Gray thinned with water to establish the form, with a no. 1 round for the facial features and a no. 5 round for the rest of the cat.

Mix a dark color for the cat’s coat with Ultramarine Blue, Burnt Sienna and Burnt Umber. Paint the lines around the eyes and the pupils with a no. 1 round. Paint the dark parts of the cat’s coat with a no. 7 round, with strokes that follow the hair pattern.

For the pink shadow under the chin, mix Titanium White, Scarlet Red and Burnt Sienna. Paint this area with a no. 1 round.

2 Paint the Middle Values

Mix the buff color for the cat’s fur with Titanium White, Raw Sienna and Burnt Umber. Paint with a no. 7 round.

Paint the shadowed parts of the nose and mouth with a no. 1 round and the dark color from Step 1. Mix a pinkish color for the nose, mouth and inside the ears with Titanium White, Scarlet Red and Raw Sienna. Paint the nose and mouth with a no. 1 round, then blend with the dark color. Paint inside the ears with a no. 3 round.

3 Paint Shadows and Fur Detail

Paint the cat’s front legs and forehead with the buff color and the dark color using a fresh no. 5 round for each mixture.

Mix the blue-gray shadow color for the cat’s fur with Titanium White, Ultramarine Blue and a touch of Burnt Umber. Paint the cat’s fur with a no. 4 round, using strokes that follow the hair pattern. Use a no. 1 round for painting around the eyes and facial details.

Begin to add detail and to integrate the dark and light colored fur. Add enough water to the dark color so the paint flows, then paint the details with a no. 4 round. In areas where the detail is more muted, use a lighter touch and less paint.

Mix a green for the eye with Cadmium Yellow Light, Ultramarine Blue and a touch of Burnt Umber. Paint with a no. 1 round. Re-establish the pupils and eye shape with the dark color and a no. 1 round.

4 Add More Detail to the Cat’s Fur

Mix a warm white for the cat’s fur with Titanium White and a touch of Yellow Oxide. Paint with a no. 4 round. Blend the edges where the white meets the other colors with feathery strokes. Switch to a no. 1 round for the facial detail.

Use a no. 3 round and the blue-gray shadow color to add more detail to the dark parts of the coat. To a portion of the buff mixture, add some Raw Sienna and Burnt Sienna. With a no. 3 round, define the warm shadow under the chin. Then detail the dark parts of the coat. Blend these areas with a separate no. 3 round and the dark color.

Paint shadows under the toes with some of the blue-gray shadow color mixed with Burnt Umber.

MARCIE

Acrylic on Gessobord

12” × 9” (30cm × 23cm)

5 Paint the Final Details

Round out the cat’s right cheek with a no. 3 round and the warm white. If you need to, re-establish the mouth. Use a no. 1 round and the warm white to reinforce the outlines of the ears.

Mix a highlight color for the eyes with a small amount of the warm white and a touch of the blue-gray shadow color. Paint the highlights in small, curved arcs with a no. 1 round. Use a separate no. 1 round and the green to blend and reinforce the eye’s shape.

Paint the whiskers with a no. 1 round and the warm white, using long, curved, sweeping strokes.

Define the cat’s toes by adding some of the blue-gray shadow color with a no. 2 round. Use a separate no. 2 round and the warm white to blend. Darken the shadows under the paws with a no. 1 round and the dark color, then tone down by drybrushing with the blue-gray shadow color and a no. 2 round.