How to Paint a Cat Hiding Among Pumpkins

Last Updated: September 22, 2023

Cats do the funniest things, and this one is no exception. The picture is easy to do and will get plenty of laughs. It highlights autumn's colors while honoring a classic October theme: pumpkins lined up on a window sill.

Part 1

Part 1 of 3:

Drawing the Scene

1

Divide the space on a sheet of 11" x 14" watercolor paper. Hold the paper in landscape orientation and in pencil, draw a line 2 1/2 inches from the bottom.
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Draw growth lines radiating from the stem like large crescent shaped lines. As in nature, perfect lines and spaces aren't required.
This will be the cat's head. Add ears, a face, and a tail. Embellish the cat further with whiskers, eyebrow whiskers, and a bow tie.
Use a box for a template and draw two rectangles in pencil by going around the box.
Divide up the windows with a large cross to create four panes.
7

Draw apples and pears on the window sills. Add mice, if desired.

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Part 2

Part 2 of 3:

Painting the Picture

All types of watercolor work, but you will need to make up puddles for the wall and shelf, so use tube paints in yellow ochre and brown for those areas.
Paint fast and loose, avoiding having the color appear dry. While damp, draw darker growth lines starting at the stem and continuing to the pumpkin's base.
Cover the entire cat with a loose wash.
4

Add details to the cat with a smaller, pointed brush. Do the bow tie in green. Do features in dark brown. Do stripes on the cat.
5

Paint yellow ochre around the pumpkins for the shelf. Do around the windows, or the wall, with diluted brown.
Do them with a fully loaded brush in one stroke, replenishing with paint as needed. Do the small moldings holding the glass panes with a smaller flat brush. Turn your paper as you work.
7

Do the outside view through the window panes. When the moldings are completely dry, wet one pane with water, allowing it to soak in for a minute. Fill a pointed brush with pale blue and barely touch it to a corner or side of the wet glass pane. Let the water carry the pale blue over the entire pane, helping it along as needed with the point of your brush. Repeat on all eight panes. Allow to dry thoroughly.

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Part 3

Part 3 of 3:

Adding Details

1

Do finishing touches. Paint the fruit on the sills, add texture to the walls, moldings and shelf, if desired. Do this with a brush filled with paint and a light, glancing touch.
2

Paint in shadows, subtle and working from a puddle of transparent gray. Mixing the residue from the center of your palette often gives a nice neutral shade of gray. If not, use just a touch of black diluted with water. Make sure the piece is really dry. Keep the same color for all the shadows. Do lines near the edges of all the moldings. Make small shadows under the pumpkins and cat. Make shadows on the ledge in front of the fruits on the window sills.
3

Darken slightly the area behind the pumpkins with shadows. Do a shadow under the stems of the pumpkins.
4

Let the piece dry again and check it over to see what needs accenting. Punch up the kitty's features and behind his ears. Detail the bow tie with darker green.
It will bring a smile to the face of the viewer, especially cat lovers.

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How to Paint a Cat Hiding Among Pumpkins

Steps

Drawing the Scene

Painting the Picture

Adding Details

Expert Q&A

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