Cats and Pumpkins Art

With fall approaching, I decided to try painting cats and pumpkins. And I also made some digital pumpkin and cat art designs.

The artwork featured in this post is available on MANY products in my Redbubble shop, including stickers, shirts, mugs, cards, blankets, and much more.

In this post, I’ll share some of the stories behind the art. All the art on this page was created and copyrighted by me, Heidi Bender.

Black Cat with a Pumpkin

The first painting I did was of a black cat and one pumpkin. The top of the painting felt too empty, so I added a tree with branches.

My cat Midnight was the model for this painting. I found an older photo of him from November 2021, which was before he lost weight.

He died in May 2022, and it took me a few weeks (probably longer) before I was able to paint a black cat again. Now, he lives on through my art. He was an outdoor cat that I miss tremendously.

While Midnight had a tipped ear and red pigment in his left eye, I painted a full ear and regular-looking iris for him. Midnight’s ear was already tipped (meaning that he was neutered through TNR) before he came to my yard. And he had an old eye injury that resulted in constant running.

Black Cat as a model for a black cat painting
Midnight is the model for the black cat in the painting.

Black Cats with Pumpkins and Bats

black cats with pumpkins and bats painting

I didn’t have much of a plan for this painting before I started it. However, black cats and pumpkins are associated with Halloween, so I wanted to try another painting with them.

This was also my very first time painting bats. The bats were placed in the sky so that the sky would not feel so empty.

I also wanted a painting that would look great on a greeting card. When I sent out my annual year-end cat Christmas card with a letter last year, my sister liked the card so much that she still has it on display.

While Midnight is the inspiration for the black cats, I painted them each a bit differently and are not intended to look exactly like Midnight.

Three Cats with Pumpkins a leaves

Last week I texted my mom that I didn’t know what to paint next. She suggested a basket of leaves and a rake. So the painting above is what I painted!

Painting a rake seemed like a challenge for me, as did a basket, but I thought a pile of leaves would be easy!

It turns out the leaves were not easy for me. I really didn’t know how to paint them to look like a nice pile of leaves that a cat might want to jump into. And My husband says they are too uniform. I also felt like the color of the pumpkins was too reddish.

Also, I failed at the perspective. The leaves in the front (bottom) of the painting are larger to make them look closer. But something still seems off about them.

I still am putting it on Redbubble because someone else might like it! The three cats are Midnight (black), Charcol (gray), and Pork Chop (orange).

Digital Cat and Pumpin Art Designs

On left, a couple wearing black shirts with a cat pumpkin silhouette. on the right a repeating pattern of cats and pumpkins on a tote bag

I’ve also made many digital designs that feature cats and pumpkins. Two of them are pictured above.

You can see all of my Cat and Pumpkin art on Redbubble.

Read Next: Feral Black Cat Folk Art with Flowers

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Heidi Bender is the writer and founder of the Joy of Cats. She enjoys sharing cat information and providing helpful cat tips. She considers herself a cat lady and currently cares for eight cats.

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