Chi, my wonderful tabby cat is a dreadful thief! He’s one of those cats who just has to share your food. We tried to stop him begging for food only to find that he’d taken a more creative approach. He’d wait until you sat on the sofa with a snack and he’d sneak up behind you and wait. Just as you raised a nice piece of cheese or ham to your lips a paw would shoot out and take it from your fingers! Leaving you staring at your empty hand in amazement.

He soon had us trained. We quickly learned that it was easier to give him a small morsel from our meal than to be constantly turning around wondering where the next ambush would come from.

So when I had an idea for a painting for the annual Society Of Feline Artists show I instantly thought of Chi as the model. And here he is performing brilliantly.
:-)

In the close up detail below you can see his typical expression of bliss.

These five beautiful cats belong to Cindy Larson and I’m trying to capture all five in one large painting. Luckily these five fabulous felines have been pretty co-operative and have all posed in just the right position to make a good picture. This is a large 20×30 painting in acrylics on canvas.

The sketch on the canvas.

 
The under painting.

Starting on the background.

Starting on the cats themselves.  

The finished 30 x 20 painting.

Now it just needs varnishing. The five of them have come together very well and I just love Josie, the Maine Coon, stretched out in the middle of the painting with her amazing tail draped over the edge of the bed.

And here are some close ups of the finished canvas.

This is Mad Dog, I love his casual pose and direct expression.

Isis and Bobina the youngsters. What an unusual and pretty pair they are.

Cooper in laid back mode.

Josie looking wonderfully relaxed.

And this shows the detail of the canvas.

These five cats have been wonderful to paint! I feel like I’ve really got to know them as the painting has progressed. It’ll be sad to see it go to it’s new home. 

He’s painted in acrylics on fine linen canvas.

Laura’s cats Moo and Forrest look so comfortable curled up in front of the windows. This painting uses acrylic ink and paints on paper built up in layers over an acrylic medium which adds some random texture and surprise to the painting process.

A close up detail.

Chi, (Clint Eastwood) the tabby gun slinger of Freddie Street, is staring down the barrel of a loaded claw. ‘OK punk, do you feel lucky? Go ahead, bite me, make my day!’