Cats have long been artists’ muses, across time and around the world. Their beauty, aloof personalities, and sometimes sassiness are both intriguing and amusing to us. And for the creatively inclined, they beg to be memorialized in art. Japanese artist Poshichi finds familiar inspiration for their paintings: their rescue cat. Working digitally, they combine contemporary media with nihonga, a term for Japanese painting that originated in the 19th century. It literally means “Japanese painting,” and was coined to distinguish itself from Western-style art.
In Poshichi’s humorous works, the women pictured interact with cats in a way that any pet parent will recognize. Namely, when the humans want affection—to snuggle and cuddle those adorable faces—the felines firmly deny their requests. The cats hold out their front legs to give a very forceful, “NO!” But, of course, when the women are doing something like painting or resting, the curious kitties have to see what they’re up to by climbing on top of them.
The impetus for Poshichi’s paintings came as an homage to their rescue cat. “Before adopting him, I couldn’t find much joy in life,” they tell My Modern Met, “everything felt unreal, I had no hope for the future, and I often just wished the days would pass quickly. My artwork back then reflected those dark and gloomy feelings.”
Things changed after Poshichi adopted their cat about two years ago. “It sounds cliché, [but] I began to experience many moments of genuine happiness,” they explain. A change in their cat’s health added some urgency to the pieces. “Recently, my cat’s health declined, and it made me want to capture each day vividly and preserve those moments through my drawings.”
Poshichi has shared their work on Instagram to a great response. “I’m deeply grateful that so many people have connected with those works,” they say. If you enjoy their works, prints are for sale through their INPRNT shop.
Japanese artist Poshichi finds familiar inspiration for their paintings: their rescue cat.
In Poshichi’s humorous works, the women pictured interact with cats in a way that any pet parent will recognize.
The ongoing series of paintings is an homage to Poshichi’s own cat.
“It sounds cliché, [but] I began to experience many moments of genuine happiness [when I adopted my cat],” they tell My Modern Met.
My Modern Met granted permission to feature photos by Poshichi.
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