Cat in the Window

 

I've had this photo for a long time, and I kept passing it up because I thought it would be too hard, but it kept jumping out at me.  Some photos do that.  I just have to paint them.  

Make sure that you draw all the white parts of the cat that are in the sunlight.  They "make" the painting.

I underpainted the cat with yellow ochre wherever you cold see some yellow/orangish color showing.  Try to keep the edges soft by tickling them with a damp brush so they don't look too straight and crisp.

I did the same thing with the window - thinned down cobalt blue and soften the edges - MAKE SURE YOU DON'T PAINT OVER THE WHITE AREAS OF THE CAT.

I painted the wall and the window sill.  Then I made a very pale pink for the inside of the ears.

This is the finished painting.  I did not deliberately skip to the end without taking step by step photos.  The markings on the cat were harder than i thought.  I kind of got lost in it and didn't have time for photos.  I mixed Ultramarine Blue and Burnt Sienna to make a dark brown.  I thought it would show up blacker, and added more blue a couple of times, but it still mostly looks brown.  So, I just started painting large and small dark areas, whispy like fur, or small dashes and dots for the shorter hair on the face.  It wasn't broken down into steps.  I just kept adding hair and darker areas until I got what I wanted.   I made sure that any part that touched the while got softened.  The painting is a bit darker than the photo.  I added some of the same color in the shadow part of the ear.  I added shadows on the wall and the side of the window sill.  I painted the eye.  I touched up some of the lighter fur with a little red mixed with yellow ochre because it looked too light.  I think that's it.  I could make whiskers by scratching out with a craft knife, but let that alone - at least for now.  It must be a rainy or foggy day, because there isn't any scenery out that window.  ☺