Pepper Paintings

Hi everyone! Today’s post is all about my cat, Pepper, and all the art I’ve made for her over the years. Pepper celebrated her eighth birthday last month. She’s a striped tabby cat with green eyes and a playful personality. She’s also an unusually affectionate cat who loves cuddles and snuggles! Of course, she’s one of my favourite subjects for paintings.

This piece was done in watercolour, mostly as an experiment. I had just gotten a new set of watercolours and wanted to test them out, so I fell back on my favourite subject: my cat. I used a classic pose of hers and a light wash of colour. With this piece, I didn’t bother erasing my pencil sketch. Instead I let the graphite mix with the watercolour, since she’s a gray cat. The effect isn’t too noticeable, but it adds texture. It’s a simple painting, but I framed it anyway and put it on display.

This next drawing is one of my favourites. I painted a photograph of Pepper taken next to a salt lamp. The pink and orange lighting on her white fur caught my eye as soon as I saw it, as did her cute expression. The background in the original image was distracting and would have taken away from the focal point, so I decided on a wash of dark blue instead. This is an important thing to remember in art: you always have the choice to modify your reference photo! I like to think the painting looks like she’s brewing a magic potion :)

I made this painting as a birthday gift for a family member. This one really captures the green undertones in her fur, as well as the depth in her eyes. Her colouring matches well with the pastel pink background. Although the proportions are slightly off, I like this one a lot.

This painting was done for the front of a birthday card. I used the same watercolour set as the previous one. This one is also pretty simple. I used basic colours and not much blending because I made it in a rush. Maybe that’s why she looks so angry in this painting.

I tried a new, sketchy style with this drawing on tan toned sketch paper. I didn’t focus as much on shading or depth, and instead tried adding in unusual colours like oranges, pinks, and blues. I mainly used Prismacolor coloured pencils, but also a ballpoint pen to add texture. The white bubbles on the side were just an afterthought, but I love how they add interest, especially since they’re on a tan background.

Comment down below and let me know which drawing you like best! I love to hear your opinions on my work!

Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed this article. Remember, I release new ones every week. Before you go, don't forget to check out my shop!