Cats · Calico Cat
Custom Calico Cat Portraits, Hand-Painted From Your Photo
We paint Calico Cat portraits by hand from your photo. Trade pricing applies from one piece, and you approve a digital proof before anything ships.
- Coat
- Short or long, white with distinct patches of black (or grey) and orange (or cream)
- Common colours
- white, black and orange — or the diluted grey and cream
- Build
- Any; almost always female
- Canvas orientation
- Portrait or square — the patches on the face as the subject
- Detail levels
- Painterly · Refined · Hyperreal
- Minimum order
- 1 piece — retail or trade
On the canvas
Painting a Calico Cat: what we pay attention to
A calico’s pattern is unique and is the first thing we draw. At the sketch stage the patches — the split on the face, the saddle, the colour on the tail — are mapped from your photo so their edges fall exactly where they do on your cat, and then each patch is painted as fur with its own range: the black as cool and warm darks, the orange in three temperatures from cream to red-brown, the white with warm and cool greys in the shadows.
The edges between patches are feathered so the three colours read as one coat, not as a collage. Inside each patch the fur direction follows the form, and the tabby markings that often live in the orange patches are painted through. Dilute calicos — grey and cream on white — are painted cooler and softer with the same mapping.
The face of a calico is usually split or blazed, and it is the natural subject of a straight-on head-and-shoulders study. A full body seated or loafing shows the whole pattern, which many owners want because the pattern is the cat. The proof is where you check that every patch is in its place.
Scenes and settings
What do people have us paint a Calico Cat doing?
Three colours in patches, almost always female, and no two patterns alike anywhere in the world. A calico portrait is a drawing problem before it is a painting problem — the patches have to be in the right places or it is somebody else’s cat.
Almost none of the photographs that reach us are posed. They are the ordinary moments somebody kept — and those are the ones worth a canvas. Any of the settings below can be painted as the Calico Cat alone, or with the people the Calico Cat belongs to.
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The pattern, mapped
Full body, side-on, every patch where it actually is. We draw the pattern from your photograph as a map and let it shrink and curve where the body turns — scattered evenly, it looks printed.
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The asymmetric face
Head-on, where one side is often orange and the other black. Painted exactly as it falls, including when the split runs straight down the nose, because this is the face your family knows.
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In a patch of sun
All three colours lit at once, white blown bright, orange hot, black showing its brown. Painted with the white kept as warm and cool greys so it still has form.
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Curled so all three show
Asleep in a circle with the patches arranged around it. A square canvas; the pattern becomes almost decorative and makes a strong small painting.
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On a patchwork quilt
Pattern on pattern, which should not work and does. Painted with the quilt knocked back in contrast so the cat stays forward.
Something else in mind? Send the photograph — a Calico Cat in a setting we have not listed is a normal request, not a difficult one. Portraits with people and pets together →
For the trade
Selling Calico Cat portraits?
Breed-specific portraits are a strong seller for Etsy shops, breed clubs, groomers and gift retailers. Order one at trade pricing, or a set for a shop or a single interior, shipped to you or your customer. The same policies apply to every trade account.
See the trade program| Policy | What we offer |
|---|---|
| Minimum order | 1 piece |
| Trade pricing | Applies from the first piece |
| Capacity | 50+ painters in the studio; volume orders in the thousands, not the dozens |
| Largest single piece | Up to 5 m on the longest side — freight is checked before we quote |
| Ship direct to your customer | Yes, worldwide |
| Branding on the parcel | Yours, ours or none — you tell us |
| Sample policy | Discounted first sample |
| Digital proof | Sent for approval before every shipment |
| Payment | Deposit + balance after proof approval |
| Price list | On request |
Recent work
View portfolio →
Every piece is painted by one painter through eight documented stages — see how we paint.
Calico Cat portrait FAQ
How do you paint three colours without the cat looking patchy?
The patches are drawn at the sketch stage from your photo so their edges fall exactly where they do, then each patch is painted as fur with its own range — the black as colour, the orange in three temperatures, the white with grey shadows — and the edges between them feathered so they read as one coat.
Will the exact pattern be right?
Yes. A calico's pattern is unique and owners know it; we map it from the photo and the proof is where you check it.
Do you paint dilute calicos?
Yes. Grey and cream in place of black and orange are painted cooler and softer, with the same mapping.
Do you paint from a phone photo?
Yes, as long as it is the original file rather than a screenshot or a photo of a photo. Sharp eyes and even light matter more than the camera. Send it and we will confirm whether it will work.
Can I order a single piece at trade pricing for a client?
Yes. Trade pricing starts from a single piece, and a project — a series for one interior, or a standing monthly order — is quoted the same way. Request the trade price list from the trade page.
Other cats we paint
All cats →Ask about a Calico Cat portrait
Send a photo of your Calico Cat and tell us the size you have in mind. We reply with a quote and tell you honestly whether the photo will work.
Thank you — we have your inquiry.
We reply within 24 hours on business days. Want an answer sooner? Message us on WhatsApp and mention your name.
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