Artists debate the ancient discipline of keeping their cats from playfully destroying their creations, turned into a masterclass of this fine feline art every beginner should learn.

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    So, you have cats and you have paints and ...
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    Woman drawing on a canvas while a cat that was sitting on her shoulder jumps off her back, portrayed by human and feline models.
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    auntchristine I am digging through my supplies, setting up again, and am admiring my precious watercolor brushes, my paper, my supplies.
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    Cats are natural enemies of brushes. I wanted to keep my brushes close to me at all times to get familiar and comfortable with them again. No can do. Cats just love to chew them, pick them up and play toss.
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    And hair, cat hair getting into my paper. So, you have cats. How do you keep your brushes, paper, paints, supplies from the ravages of cat hair, playing cats, curious cats, chewing cats?
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    A woman stops drawing in the middle of the process because her cat jumped on her lap and demanded pets, personified by a couple of feline and human models.
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    sandge And hair, cat hair getting into my paper. You just became a mixed media artist!
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    An orange cat is sitting on a table next to a painted canvas, represented by a model cat.
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    POLAR69 Not a problem here! My moggies either spend all day outside or just sleep in the window.....now if only kids were more like cats!
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    A man paints on a big canvas on the table while a kitten is sitting on the same canvas, both depicted by models.
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    auntchristine LOL, "mixed media" indeed! Studio is part of my living room so they live in here.
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    Going outside isn't an option- too dangerous in New York City (might get eaten by a rat or set afire by a human rat).
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    Most of my cats were hand raised, bottle fed orphans (yes I have a clowder here) and they are very attached to me. They want to be right in my face no matter what I'm doing.
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    Artist stops her work because her big orange cat walks across the table, portrayed by a cat model and a woman model.
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    Example, I have a painting on my board and am working on the sketch. I got up for just one minute to go elsewhere and returned to find Gilbert cat plopped right on the painting, looking very pleased with himself (you know that Chesire Cat look?)
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    can deal with that with my hand squirt bottles. But the brushes-how do I protect my brushes in my jars as they dry from cat teeth?
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    Woman sitting on the floor painting a large canvas, a cat sitting next to her curious about her paint tubes, embodied by a woman model and a cat model.
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    lunamoonshadow Well, I don't paint (I bead) but I do have to "hide" things from my cats-like cereal, or pastry, or pretty much anything I don't want them into-so I do put lots of stuff into metal cabinets....or
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    the microwave, or sometimes even the oven to keep it out of kitty paws...& I'm not just talking food! I dried my big paintbrushes (from painting inside my apartment) in a jar under the bathroom sink & cliped the door open (has a spring-shut mechanism) with a hairclip for air circulation... Dunno if that helps or not!
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    Cat peeking behind a canvas on an artist's work, looks very intrigued, represented by a model cat, not related to the content.
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    auntchristine Thanks, Lyn. Oh one of my cats would just love it if I took up beading or jewelry making. She cost me $1500.00 two months ago when she opened the door to my walk-in closet, then opened a rubbermaid storage box, and ate ribbon that I thought was securely put away. Nearly led her and put me in debt.
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    She chews everything that is dangly-destroyed two pair of roman shades (ate the pull cords), two venetian blinds (ate those cords), several sets of speakers and lamps (ate those cords) and every single draw string on any jacket I owned.
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    So she would just love me to string beads or sew. I do need to get a table top metal cabinet, nothing huge, just enough to hold the jars of brushes. I wonder if anyone makes that?
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    I've just decided I need to get myself a dust-buster hand vac to quickly clear away any flying hair (and yes I do vacuum daily anyway but it doesn't help).
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    Tattooed artist takes a break from painting in the studio to pet his cat on the table, the two are representing models for the picture.
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    YLCIA My cat Olik preffers large toilet cleanning brushes to chew on So, now I have brushes with the lids on them.
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    But he does not touch my painting brushes or my paintings, he just vvveeeerryy carefully walks around my row of paintings standing on the floor and around my easel but never jumps on the table with brushes and paints.
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    He loves to chew the ribbons though and I went through the vet emergency once too with his chewing the harsh ribbon He also ruined my very expensive speakers but not by chewing but by scratching it Another thing he scatches is my berber carpeted stairs so he about to ruin a couple of them ... Other then that he is good:)
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    Woman sitting and drawing on a canvas, her cat on her lap is smelling the canvas way too close, illustrated by two models.
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    prairie painter Okay, here's a homemade solution- get a pipe rack and attach it to the wall above where you paint, with L brackets. Keep the brushes in that. Too small for a cat to jump up on, and it'll keep the brushes
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    neat. Wish I could show you a picture of what I mean. I guess just cruise thrift shops until you find some single-row wooden pipe racks, you'll see what I mean.
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    My kitters wandered through a dish of Ultramarine and then went exploring my painting table. I love the blue piddy-paw prints!
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    Digital artist stops her work on the iPad to turn around and pet her cat, depicted by woman and cat models.
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    Reignboblu Ha, the simplest answer is you don't. I have four cats, a husky and a boyfriend, plus two roomates with two cats in the three bedroom apartment. I am no confined to one table and we had a incident a few moths back where gary...the spaz of all
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    the cats and one of my roomates yellow tabby cats decided to take a flying leap onto the table where my palette covered with a freshly squeezed out assortment of all my paints was sitting. he wore a paw full of black paint, but I caught him before he hit the carpet thank god.we scrubbed it out and he had a little residue, but not bad, considering.
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    All of the canvases I prime myself get their fare share of cat hair, but mostly it works itself out in a few coats.
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    Artist is drawing on a canvas while her orange cat on her lap looks at it with intent, embodied by a cat model and a woman model.
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    My brushes are different. I didn't spend the money on good brushes to have the cat or the demon dog eat them. They have their own home. The small synthetic or hog hair brushes go in a small tote, the big ones
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    in a wrap and the nice sable brushes don't get used unless it's a major painting and they stay in their own tool box.The animals are crafty, but the lack of opposeable (sp?) thumbs still holds them back.
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    Woman trying to paint mugs but is interrupted by her cat who hugs her hand, acted by human and feline models.
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    coolartsybabe My cats are pretty good at leaving my art supplies alone. Only one jumps up on my drawing table but only when it's empty and I'm not working at it. I always put everything out of paws way when I'm finished... don't want to tempt fate.
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    They do like to sit on my lap and watch me work or sit nearby and watch. Tofu loves to pose so I can draw her. She enjoys looking at the finished drawing of her.
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    When Boris was alive, he loved to pose for the camera and really enjoyed looking at his photos...he really could make the connection. When he saw me with a camera he'd strike a pose. Maybe he was a GQ model in a prior life?
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    Fritz just loves to watch me do artwork. Not all that interested in sitting still long enough for me to draw him though.
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    A top shot of an artist planning a sketch in a sketchbook while his cat lies down on the page and interrupts the process for pets, personified by two modeling subjects.
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    They've all been trained to stay away from my art supplies and other areas of my apartment by my clapping my hands and shouting "NO, NO!" when they had their noses too close. I tried the squirt gån thing but my cats just sat right where they were and gave me a look that said, “I cannot believe you just did that. to me How dare you!"
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    If I'm working with anything that would be too toxic for them to be around, like fixative sprays, I use it in a room with a door I can shut or outside. None of them can stand the smell of turpentine or oil paints so I have no problem keeping them away from that stuff. I have a hard time doing any art without a purring cat on my lap.
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    A painter sitting in front of a canvas with a black cat on her lap, the cat looks at the painting, both are models for the picture.
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    auntchristine Thanks, Geri, I'll try to remember. I made room in my china cabinet and now I remember to put the brushes in their jar into the cabinet.
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    Here's Gilbert. As you can see, he settled down right on a small painting I was attempting (that was my WDE for May 22nd). Now I have to remember to stand that thing up even if I just go to use the toilet. Get aload of the smug look on his face.
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    Cheezburger Image 10634817280

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