Kitty Angels Shelter Benefit Auction

Rufus and Earlene (who were quickly adopted and have new names now) were being sheltered through the Kitty Angels Rescue when I saw their photos on Facebook. I offered to paint a watercolor of the pair and auction it off to benefit the shelter. Lynx points have delicate coloring, so first I painted a study of Rufus (I auctioned that to benefit the shelter as well). Several months (and several other projects) later, I got around to the watercolor of Rufus and Earlene together.

At first, I felt compelled to sketch Earlene as if she still has a complete ear, but then I changed my mind. When cats in feral colonies are trapped and neutered, one of their ears are clipped before they are returned to the colony. That way, volunteers can tell which cats have already been neutered. Because their TNR program is one of the reasons I respect Kitty Angels, and because Earlene was one of the lucky cats who were tame enough to be fostered, I decided the best way to honor her was to paint her ear as it is in real life.

The website for the Kitty Angels shelter is https://www.kittyangels.org/