Another Generation of Cave Cats and Tomb Cats

Continuing with my revisions for my illustrated book of cats, I’ve just finished two more. The Cave Cats is an updated version of my previous illustration. The new version varies the sizes of the cats to give an impression of atmospheric perspective. Added are the details of fossil shells and arrow heads.


These days, when I revise a drawing, I sometimes find that the revisions spawn new illustrations and poems. This is what happened with the Cave Cat revision. My first remake was patterned after the cave paintings in Chinese Han tombs. But when that drawing was finished, I realized that it no longer went with the “paleolithic” poem. So I wrote a new kitty ditty to go with this drawing and called it “Tomb Cats.” It goes like this:

In sacred spaces where spirits loom

flying cats protect a tomb

filled with objects for veneration

from ages past to the present generation