Cat Christmas Card

Caroling Cats for Christmas

Watercolor on Arches cold press

Since 1988, I've been drawing or painting an illustration to photocopy and send out to friends and family. For this year's card, I thought of painting three silly cats singing carols.

Luckily, I started with a large sheet of paper. I kept adding more cats to balance the composition. I ended up with five grown cats and four kittens.

Because this project morphed into something so much larger than originally planned, and because it was getting so close to Christmas, my family didn't think I could possibly finish painting in time. I accepted that as a challenge. I carried the painting, as large as it was, to any place I'd have time to work on it. As the painting progressed, people would point out their favorite of the cats. I was a bit surprised that the Maine Coon cat with the goofy expression was voted most popular.

I won the challenge and mailed out the cards in ample time. Just for the record, my favorite cat is the calico kitten on the far left.