Proportion: Christmas Calico Cat

6 x 6 Acrylic on stretched canvas.

Definition of Calico Cat: Calico refers to the color 
pattern of the cat not the breed.  The color pattern 
occurs in a non-predictive manner.    

I have been on a quest to capture the essence "catness ". 

I have struggled with the facial proportions.  I must be 
painting my mental image of "catness" and not what is 
really there.  I have never owned a cat and I believe 
familiarity with an animal makes it easier to under-
stand its proportions.  With this painting I kept 
stopping and putting it aside, so I could look at it 
with fresh eyes and evaluate where I was 
proportionally off. This was very helpful since my 
original painting was off in the relationship of the ears 
to the head and the length of the face from the nose 
down. This painting is closer to looking convincing 
than many I have done. After I finished it I asked 
myself why? Yes, my measurements and angles 
are more accurate.  I started to investigate cat 
facial proportions and found that pentagonal symmetry 

is applicable to a cat face, as well as to many other 
creatures. We as humans love symmetry.  We find

beauty in it.  Maybe this is why I like this cat painting 
better than most I have done.