Peek-a-Boo at the Patch: An Easy Kitten Watercolor Tutorial for Beginners

This week's easy kitten watercolor tutorial, "Peek-a-Boo at the Patch," started with a cat who hangs around my daughter's house. She belongs to someone, but she visits like she owns the place, and she plays the funniest game with my dog Ollie. She prances past him slow as could be, glancing over, not one bit startled, while he goes completely wild. It was a game, and she knew it.

That little game is this week's painting. A kitten peeking over a big round pumpkin, paws resting on top, playing peek-a-boo with whoever walks by. If you watch animals long enough, you start to wonder what they're thinking. Maybe they're just delighted, the way we get to be.

And here is the kitten I painted:

A Kitten Who Owns the Whole Patch

I painted the simplest version of it. Not every whisker, not every stripe. Just the feeling: a round pumpkin, a curious kitten, paws resting on top like it owns the whole patch.

We grown-ups can forget how good it feels to be delighted on purpose. We get so busy being sensible that we skip past the sweet, silly things. But delight is a practice too, and it's one worth keeping. Some weeks the painting is about slowing down. This week it's about smiling.

And because no painting leaves my table without one, there's a tiny heart tucked in beside the kitten. Some signatures are initials. Mine is a heart.

Mixing Our Pumpkin Paws Colors

This project also gave me another chance to play with our Fall Collection palette. This week's colors are called Pumpkin Paws: Sunlit Gold, Rust Orchard, Fallen Bark, Evergreen Hush and Dusty Bloom. Say it out loud and it sounds like pause, which feels just right for fall.

This is my third pumpkin (I’ve painted them all this month). The first wore fall leaves and curly vines, and it's still one of my most popular tutorials. The second hid in the harvest bouquet. They all come out different, and I love the blending that goes into each one. Three is a charm.

The kitten was perfect for these colors. I washed the pumpkin in warm Rust Orchard and Sunlit Gold, mixed a soft orange-beige for the kitten's fur, and let Evergreen Hush and Dusty Bloom bring the vines and leaves to life.

One of my favorite things about working with a limited palette is discovering how many colors you can make without reaching for another tube of paint.

A Fun Trick: Mix-Your-Own Pumpkin Orange

There's also a very simple trick in this week's tutorial that you can use in all kinds of paintings.

No orange on your palette? You can mix your own. Swirl Rust Orchard and Sunlit Gold together, and you'll get a warm pumpkin-orange that's perfect for kitten fur.

Play with the amounts. More gold makes it lighter and softer. More rust makes it deeper and richer. That's the fun part, and no two mixes will look exactly alike, which is exactly as it should be.

Paint This Peek-a-Boo Kitty With Me

For this week's project, we'll paint an adorable peek-a-boo kitten together from beginning to end.

We'll start with an easy outline, wash in loose watercolor layers using our Pumpkin Paws colors, add the kitten, the vines and the leaves, and finish with a fine-tip black pen. That's always my favorite moment, when the wobbly wash suddenly looks like it meant to do that all along.

And yes, there's a tiny heart in there too.

WATCH THE PEEK-A-BOO KITTY WATERCOLOR TUTORIAL ON YOUTUBE:

No watercolor experience is necessary. You can trace the outline if you'd rather not draw the kitten yourself, and you certainly don't need to use the exact same paints I do.

The idea isn't to make yours look exactly like mine.

It's to paint something that makes you smile.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Is a kitten hard to paint in watercolor?

No! A kitten is one of the friendliest subjects for a beginner. It's mostly simple shapes: a round head, triangle ears and an oval body. In this easy kitten watercolor tutorial, we keep everything loose and whimsical, so wobbly lines just add charm.

What watercolor colors do I need for this peek-a-boo kitten?

I used my five-color Fall Collection palette: Hansa Yellow Light, Transparent Red Oxide, Raw Umber, Sap Green and Quinacridone Rose. You don't need these exact paints. Similar yellow, rusty orange, brown, green and red-pink watercolors will work.

Do I need to know how to draw to paint this kitten?

No. This project is designed for beginners, and you can use a simple traced outline if drawing feels intimidating. The goal is to enjoy painting the shapes and colors, not to draw a perfectly proportioned kitten.

How do you paint the kitten's whiskers?

With a fine-tip black pen! After your paint is dry, draw three or four light whiskers on each side of the muzzle. There is no right way to do it. Light and wandering is the whole point.

What if I don't have orange paint?

Mix your own. Swirl Rust Orchard and Sunlit Gold together on your palette until you get a warm orange you like. It's one of my favorite tricks.

What if my kitten looks wonky?

Good. Wonky becomes whimsical around here. A lopsided ear or a wandering whisker just gives your kitten more personality.

This Week's Heart Practice

Today I let small joys surprise me.

I like this week's Heart Practice because it's something you can carry with you all week, paintbrush or not.

In gratitude, thank the small delights that peek out at you this week. The sweet, silly moments that make you grin before you can stop yourself.

Then, take a deep breath and smile at your painting.

Sometimes the smallest things, a curious kitten, a few brushstrokes on paper, remind us of the biggest truth: you belong here.

With heart and color,

🩷 Donna