Calico

I start the painting by sketching a rough outline of the subject, this is so that I have a guide for the pose and can make sure I have enough space on the canvas.

The background is the first area to be painted, this is to make sure that the fur of the cat does not get painted over which would cause the brush strokes of the fur to lose its soft edges.

The middle tones are what I start with in each area, this is so that I can have more control over what areas appear the brightest and darkest to make a more exaggerated form. (unless the area is completly black or white such as the inside of the mouth)

Since the pattern of the cat is a little bit complicated I use the lightest hues present in the fur to map out the pattern. Using the lighter tones means that if I make a mistake it can easily be painted over.

To make the fur look fluffy I am relying on the shape brush strokes themself. Which in order to make sure they are visible I make a small gap between each brush stroke when using one tone and then fill those gaps with a very similar tone.

Using a smaller brush the lighter and fluffier fur is added as well as making slight adjustments to the pattern to closer reflect the subject.

Whe whiskers are added last because of how thin they making them easy to paint over during earlier painting. Due to how pale they are in contrast to the background it required afew coats to make them visible.