SIAMESE

Siamese always look noble. I'd love to have one, but I'd always be worried about it being stolen.

What do I think? It's a lovely picture of a Siamese cat, but not THIS cat. If you're a cat owner, you might know what I mean when I say a cat can LOOK male or female. Well, the one in the photo looks female to me, and mine looks male! It's in the 'snoutyness'. The line of black face down the side of the cat's left eye is too thick and this changes the look. So no, I don't think I got a likeness. Decent looking cat, though.

BOO!

I think that kittens are harder to draw for the same reason that I find children harder than adults to draw- the head proportions and feature sizes are all different. Why should this matter when you're drawing from a photo anyway? Don't know. Maybe we're used to the proportions we see in the mirror every day. Anyway, despite this, I thought this would be a good portrait to try because of the different colours in his coat.

What do I think?: I don't like this one much. I think it went flat, the eyes are looking left (how did that happen?!) and I can't do paws (yet?). But it's all good practice. If I say that I just think I chose the wrong photo, is that the same as blaming my tools? I had to decide whether or not to post the ones I'm not happy with here. I decided to. I hope to improve, that's what this is about. How will I tell if I lock away from sight the ones I found unsatisfactory?

JASMINE

This cat's breed is "Egyptian Mau". They are known for having particularly luminous eyes. As to the name, I just thought it suited.

What do I think?: I love it!

TIMMY

We took in a stray kitten and looked after him till a cat sanctuary could rehome him. The new owners called him "Timmy". This isn't him, but it looks a bit like him, hence the name for this portrait.

What do I think?:

I've sketched cats before but not in detail, not in colour and not from photo's. I have only had the confidence before to draw from other people's drawings. I'm pleased with how it came out, especially the eyes. The darkness makes it very 3D. There wasn't enough detail of his body in the photo & I don't feel able to fill that in myself. Too scared to ruin what I have. The confidence thing again!