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Activities / Kalighat Painting / Kalighat Cat and Fish

Kalighat Cat and Fish

Kalighat-Style Cat with a Fish: A Playful Brush-Line Beginner Painting

Level
Beginner
Duration
45 - 75 mins
Budget
₹342 – ₹884
Age
10+
State
West Bengal

Materials

  • Thick drawing paper, A4, 300 gsm smooth
  • Poster colours (India) or acrylic paint (USA), 12 colours
  • Round brushes, sizes 0, 1, 2, 4 and 6
  • Pencil (soft) and eraser
  • Plate for a palette, jar of water, paper towel, newspaper
  • Masking tape or cellophane tape

Steps

  1. Set up your paper, paints, brushes and a jar of water
    Cover the table with newspaper. Tape an A4 sheet of thick paper to the table at the corners. Put out a small plate as a palette, a jar of water, a paper towel and your brushes. Squeeze or scoop pea-sized amounts of orange, brown, blue, white and black on the plate, with space between them. Kalighat painters used cat-and-fish scenes on bazaar paintings in Kolkata, so you are copying a real tradition. Common mistake: using thin copy paper, which curls when wet.
    Tip: Keep the paper towel flat beside the plate to blot your brush before every stroke.
  2. Sketch a large cat in pencil, 15 cm long
    With a soft pencil, draw a round, plump body about 15 cm long in the middle of the page. Add a rounded head about 6 cm wide on the left, with two small pointed ears. Give the cat a long tail that curls up behind it in an S shape. Kalighat cats have smooth, flowing outlines and no tiny details. Press lightly, because you will erase later. Common mistake: drawing the cat small. Fill most of the page, since big shapes are easier to paint.
    Tip: Draw the body first as one big egg shape, then add the head and tail.
  3. Draw a fish, 8 cm long, held in the cat's mouth
    Draw a fish with a curved body about 8 cm long, from the cat's mouth down towards the lower left. Give it a forked tail about 3 cm wide and a small round eye. The fish can also lie on the ground beside the cat if you prefer. Keep the fish bold and simple. Erase any lines that cross the cat's face by mistake, because they will show through the paint.
  4. Draw the cat's face with big eyes, a nose and whiskers
    Draw two large almond-shaped eyes about 1.5 cm wide, with a round pupil inside each. Add a small triangle nose and a curved mouth under it. Draw three whiskers on each side as long, light curves. Add a few stripes on the back and tail if you like. In Kalighat, eyes are large and always look straight out of the painting. Common mistake: tiny eyes, which make the cat look dull.
  5. Paint the cat in one flat colour
    Mix a little water into orange and brown to make a creamy orange-brown. Use a medium round brush (size 4 or 6) to fill the whole cat body, head, ears and tail with smooth strokes in one direction. Keep the colour even, as flat as a poster. Leave the eyes and the inside of the ears unpainted for now. Common mistake: too much water, which makes the paint streaky and soaks the paper.
    Tip: Paint along the outline first, then fill the middle, so edges stay crisp.
  6. Paint the fish silver-grey or blue
    Mix white with a tiny touch of black for silver-grey, or use blue straight from the plate. Fill the fish with flat colour, using a smaller brush near the fins and tail. Wash your brush between colours so they do not mix. Let the paint on the cat dry a little before you paint next to it, about 5 minutes, so the colours do not run into each other.
  7. Add soft shading along one side of the cat
    Mix a little black or dark brown into your cat colour to make a slightly darker shade. Paint a thin strip of it along the lower edge of the body and the underside of the tail. While it is still wet, drag a clean, damp brush along the inner edge to blend it into the base colour. The result looks like a soft shadow, which is a Kalighat trademark. Common mistake: shading all the way across, which makes the cat look muddy. Keep it to a thin strip.
    Tip: Practise the blend once on scrap paper to see how much water you need.
  8. Paint the eyes, nose and stripes, then outline everything in black
    Wait until the paint is fully dry, about 20 minutes. With a size 0 brush and black paint thinned with a drop of water, paint the pupils, the nose, whiskers and stripes. Then draw a smooth black outline round the whole cat and fish. Try to draw each long curve in one stroke, as Kalighat artists did. If your hand wobbles, thicken the line a little.
    Tip: Rest the side of your hand on a clean paper towel so you do not smudge the paint.
  9. Add leaves in the corners, let it dry and sign it
    If you like, paint a few small green leaves or a thin border in the corners, so the page feels finished. Let the painting dry flat for at least 30 minutes. Sign your name in a corner with the black brush. Peel off the tape slowly, pulling it away from the painting. Wash your brushes in cool water and shape the tips with your fingers.

Sustainability

Medium - paper-based; use leftover paper

Safety

Paint stains; minimal otherwise