I am starting to find cats interesting as subjects.

My son sent me a photograph a while back of this cat sunning itself on hot pavements, with a dark alleyway in the background. He had a cat at home which looked remarkably similar which was why he took the picture. They were on holiday in Shropshire at the time, and on this particular day were wandering round the historic town of Ludlow

I had it in mind as a possible painting at the time, and reminded about it recently, decided to do it. I quite liked the result, as I don’t usually do cats. I used a mix of raw sienna and naples yellow for the pavement. I have a favourite mix for black, which gives a glossy black which is good for animal fur or feathers. This is a mix of blue like Windsor Blue and Alizarin crimson, with a dash of Sepia or Burnt Umber. You don’t need much of the dark brown, and that bit is pure trial and error

Since my last, which was my first attempt at a cat portrait, I have received another commission from a cat lover in the same family. Let’s hope I don’t disappoint