A Girl and Her Cat in Watercolor

One afternoon, I saw my daughter holding her cat. She had just come home from school and scooped up her kitty in an enthusiastic embrace. In that moment, there was pure joy between girl and cat. I took a quick photo without either of them really noticing and an idea for a painting was born. Using orchids and desert roses from my garden as reference, I embellished the scene with flowers, something else that’s joyous and captures the beauty of the moment. The flowers added an interesting design and color element that helped give the watercolor painting a magical touch. I usually load up my paintings with elaborate backgrounds or elements, but I wanted to keep this a simple portrait that focused on the faces and the emotional quality that shines through the expressions.

A Girl & Her Cat