Comments on: Animals with Pastels – Cat

By: Rachel Reyes

Rachel Reyes — Tue, 24 Mar 2026 20:18:34 +0000

In reply to Michael E Regan. Ditto. This person took the words out of my mouth. Matt I think you’re awesome! I lost my husband recently and I suffer from PTSD and severe anxiety. Your site has served as therapy, helping me tremendously. I don’t know where I’d be without it. I wish you and your family the best.

By: Judith Sheinberg

Judith Sheinberg — Fri, 16 Jan 2026 22:19:06 +0000

I am trying to get back into drawing after a chronic illness. Is this right gir me at 77 years old?

By: John McCarthy

John McCarthy — Sun, 14 Jul 2024 03:10:52 +0000

Hi Matt thanks for the instructional learning. I have a question though. I don’t own a computer and am working off a tablet so the reference photos are too large to screen shot in to my drawing app and I’m wondering is it my low level of technical expertise or is there a reason for this. Thanks again for the instructions they are clear and easy to follow, I have just finished the falcon and, after alot of year’s not practising my art it came out pretty good.

By: David Terry

David Terry — Sun, 31 Mar 2024 22:35:10 +0000

I’m trying to draw details with the pastel pencils, but the marks don’t show up over the underpainting very well. I’m not sure if it’s because the tooth of the paper has been filled up or something. The paper is pretty “toothy” (Strathmore 400 series Pastel paper). My Faber-Castell pastel pencils have this problem, and so do my Carbothello pastel pencils.
The pastels I used so far are from Arrtx,.
I also have some soft pastels from Prismacolor. These thin sticks will make marks that show up better, but the edge dulls immediately, so they are not much of a solution.

By: Clare Lyon

Clare Lyon — Wed, 30 Aug 2023 08:39:52 +0000

I have just finished the picture of the cat, and wondered if it was possible to upload it, to get some feed back?
Many thanks

By: Elizabeth Battle

Elizabeth Battle — Tue, 23 May 2023 14:58:59 +0000

I just finished this lesson and found it incredibly helpful. I did some things differently – I drew the sketch of the cat free-handed and put in a blurred, outdoor background, for example – but I followed the rest pretty much step by step, and I learned SO MUCH about layering this medium. Pastels are funny in that there is a very small “sweet spot” where you go from not enough layers to just the right amount, and it’s all too easy to cross over into Too Many Layers Land! lol I actually had to take an Xacto and scrape off some layers in a few areas because I crossed that line. Anyway, thanks so much for this incredible course and for the site overall. Is there a place where members can share their work? Thanks!!!

By: Pamela Myers

Pamela Myers — Mon, 22 May 2023 07:20:13 +0000

Thank you Mat for this demo of doing cats. I have just completed my interpretation o f this long haired tiger cat that is actually is a dead ringer of my own cat Gigi with the exception that Gigi has less orange and more gray in her fur. I am very happy with the results. I took additional photos of my cat to better capture her fur coloring and slightly more golden tones in her eyes. I’m going to continue doing the dog next.

By: Pamela Myers

Pamela Myers — Wed, 01 Mar 2023 01:48:20 +0000

Just started. Have been doing the “25 Days to Better Drawing” course. I just finished a pastel painting of a ginger kitten and am thinking about doing more animals as I have been doing mostly landscapes so I think I will add this course too. Thank you for the opportunity to improve my drawing\ painting skills and move out of my comfort zone.

By: Sandy Johnson

Sandy Johnson — Sun, 22 Jan 2023 03:16:30 +0000

In reply to matt. Thank you! I live in a cold, dry climate and found my hands were cracking. I like using one finger per color.

By: matt

matt — Tue, 17 Jan 2023 13:26:10 +0000

In reply to Sandy Johnson. Hi Sandy, If I'm going to be doing a lot of blending with my fingers, I like to keep a moistened and folded paper towel handy. I use this paper towel to keep my fingers clean. I also try to use a different finger for different colors so I have to use the wet paper towel less.