I love it when I come across an artist who really truly understands cats. Rus of Eat, Sleep, Sniff is definitely one of those people!

I recently purchase Volume one of the comics and it’s wonderful. You can buy it and other cool goodies here. Every page made me laugh, I could identify with it all.

The other great thing is that Rus likes to promote the Cats Protection as much as possible which is always great :D

Eat, Sleep, Sniff is also on Facebook and Twitter.

I think that Laurel Burch might be my most favourite artist of all time. Not only did she paint cats but her use of colour was just amazing. There is something magical and wonderful about her artwork. It is full of life and a real joy to see.

I recently treated myself to a new Laurel Burch bag, it’s beautiful!

Laurel Burch Cat Bag available from Amazon

Unfortunately Laurel died in 2007 but her artwork lives on and her daughter continues to promote her work. Check out her website, especially the Fantastic Felines.

Madeleine Floyd is most well known for her bird illustrations. She did however, also create a wonderful picture book called Captain’s Purr. It’s a lovely story and the illustrations are just wonderful. I really like her style.

I love the way she captures sleepy cat poses so well.

Yesterday it was announced the artist Ronald Searle had died at the age of 91. BBC news article.

On all the different new programmes they talked of his St Trinians work but not of his awesome cat drawings. He has created many many cat books with his wonderful and humourous cat illustrations. He was a fantastic artist and one that will be remembered.

I love it when I come across a new web comic I like. This one is awesome! It’s not 100% about cats but there’s enough cute kitty antics to keep me happy. You should check it out www.exocomics.com

I’ll probably spend the rest of today browsing the archives for more funny stuff. EOComics are also on Facebook so you can keep up with the latest cute drawings there.

You can also download cool backgrounds for your computer, I like this one

This illustrator is very different to the others that I have shared with you on my blog in the past. I love the darkness, the depth, the quirky details and beautiful tones.

I got an Amazon voucher for my birthday a few weeks ago and I spent some of it on Shaun Tan books including Lost Thing and The Bird King. The books a works of art, the details are incredible and the stories funny.

I love pencil work, it’s the kind of drawing I love doing most but I always think it looks unfinished. Tan’s work definitely doesn’t have that problem. It’s beautiful.

There is lots more awesomeness on Shaun’s website

The Boy Who Cried Ninja is a great kids book with a new take on the boy who cried wolf. Changing wolves for ninjas can only improve a story! I love the illustrations, the colours aren’t the usual super saturated children’s book colours. The characters are great and the story is lovely too.

Alex Latimer creates great animal characters, you should check out his blog for more awesomeness!

I thought I’d share with you the work of another illustrator whose work I adore, Oliver Jeffers.

I love the simplicity of his illustrations, his use of space and making the most of double page spreads. These illustrations are from the book Lost and Found, the story of a boy and a penguin. It’s such a wonderful story that I bought the Lost and Found [DVD] which has been animated beautifully. You really should check out his other books.

It is seeing images like this that make me really want to learn to paint properly. It looks so simple but every time I try I get nothing like the magic that you see in Jeffers’ work. Maybe I should start with his tutorial on how to draw a penguin.

I love discovering new illustrators who inspire me. I was browsing in Foyles yesterday and came across ‘A Home for Mr Tipps’ by Tom Percival which I instantly fell in love with. He’s probably more well-known for the Skulduggery Pleasant series which to be honest I’ve not really ever looked at. Being a sucker for any book with a cat on the cover I knew I had to check this one out. The story makes me think of our lovely Oscar, a poor little cat living at the end of a garden, by a bin, who takes a while to trust anyone but then becomes a happy little house cat.

I love it! The pictures are a really cool combination of photography and artwork which seem to work oh-so-well.

I was lucky enough to get a signed copy :D

There’s also a super cute animation.

I really want to learn how to paint but I’m finding it frustrating. I can do it all in Photoshop but real paints and me aren’t getting along very well, I will stick at it though!

I decided to look for some inspiration on Deviant Art. There is so much amazing art out there. I always thought watercolours were wishywashy simple pictures but how wrong was I, they seem to be so versatile, suitable for so many styles. I am determined to master them. For now, here are some pictures I really liked.

Angus by ~bcduncan (I like how it looks like Oscar)

Paul the Cat by =AuroraInk

Cat family by *karincharlotte

Portrait with a kitty by =yuki-the-vampire