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A cat-loving friend of mine recently suggested to me that I ought to offer a 2020 cat calendar. I'm not sure if that will happen, but I thought I'd better paint a few more cats just in case! (Boots and Truman can't be the only cats on the calendar!) Needing a break from the dozen partial watercolor paintings vying for my attention in my studio, I looked through the photos on my cell phone for good images of cats that I might want to paint. I came across a photo of an orange tabby, sound asleep on his heated bed. I've never painted a sleeping cat, and this one was fairly unremarkable, so I kept looking for a “better” image. (By the way, I endeavor to only paint from my own photos or photos that have been taken by my friends or family. It limits me somewhat, but it prevents copyright issues and insures that I have an emotional connection with the subject.)

I did choose a few other images of cats to paint. But something about this particular image of Cheeto was very touching. Yes, I knew the cat's name, the cat's “people”, and the cat's history. You see, this wasn't just any cat. Cheeto was a feral cat that had been too wild to tame. His “people” had tried to capture him to have him neutered, to no avail. Even so, they loved and cared for him for many years, providing cat food on the porches, adding antibiotics to his food when they could see he'd been in a fight, and more recently offering baby food when he had lost most of his teeth. They provided not one, but two, heated beds outside for Cheeto to weather the cold, one on the front porch and one on the back. In spite of the separation between indoors and out, Cheeto brought joy to his “people”.

What inspired me to paint this little heartbreaker? I knew his story, and it touched my heart. If you don't love something, don't waste your time trying to paint it. Paint what you love without worrying about whether someone will buy it or whether it will get into the next big show. If you love it, it will show in your painting. It's a lot easier to enjoy the process when you paint something you love!

As I painted this sleeping cat, I could almost feel the softness of his paws, the little raised pink foot pads, his tattered tale. I could sense his battle-worn exhaustion. This was one of those paintings that almost paints itself. My mind told me I should increase the values but my heart told me it to leave it at this stage. I like the high-key look; I think it has an almost ethereal quality. Which is appropriate, since Cheeto doesn't come around anymore. His battles are over.

Sweet Dreams, Cheeto.

Paint. Love. Repeat.