Maud Lewis Cat Painting

By Kathybarbro @KathyBarbro
Renowned Nova Scotia folk artist Maud Lewis (1903 – 1970) painted colorful scenes of rural Nova Scotia using random art supplies and painful hands as a result of juvenile rheumatoid arthritis.
1. Using a 12" x 9" piece of watercolor paper, wet the paper and paint the background bright yellow. Let dry. Using watercolor pencils (I like Prismacolor), draw the cat eyes, nose and mouth as shown with a black pencil.
2. With the same pencil, fill in the area around the eyes with short dark strokes to make a head. Add ears, and an oval-shaped body below. A tail may be added to one side.
3. Heart-shaped flowers are drawn around the cat as desired.
4. Use a small wet paint brush to go over the pencil, which will turn the color into paint. Make short strokes in an outward direction to make the fuzzy edges of the cat. Black legs may be added to the bottom. When dry, trace over the mouth lines with a white pencil, and add whiskers.