Have you ever had a cat hair on your paper when you were painting? 

I always have them, and often it leaves a line if the paint sticks around the hair.  I wondered if lots of cat hair would work to make a texture.  I brushed my cat and mashed the wads of hair onto my paper.  Then I put quinacridone gold paint into a spray bottle and sprayed it onto the hairy paper.  Just for more interesting texture, I flipped quinacridone sienna with a toothbrush and salted the whole thing.

Wet cat hair smells a lot like wet dog.

When it was dry, the texture was fairly light in value, so I just did my cat drawing right on top and started painting.  I didn’t feel like washing off the white areas and have been experimenting with American Journey’s Gessso for watercolor from Cheap Joe’s, so I used that to paint the white on top.

It’s fun to try new mediums and surfaces and techniques, but I think I’ll leave the cat hair crackle until my cat starts shedding again next summer.

The small fee I charged for this painting will go Lancaster County Cat Rescue.  If anyone wants to also donate, the mailing address is 359 College Ave, Lancaster PA 17603.