Scribbled Lives Week 36—John Nieto

John Nieto (1936–2018) was an American contemporary artist who focussed on Native American themes including Native American tribal representatives as well as indigenous wildlife. His use of intense primary colors was his trademark style.

This week’s prompt asked us to create an original piece of work inspired by John Nieto’s use of colour and images. 

I’ve been cat sitting two Burmese felines, including Django who followed me everywhere. Inspired by Nieto’s painting of a wildcat, I attempted to capture Django’s inquisitive personality. Scribing his name prominently seemed to compete with the image, so the idea was scrapped. Maybe less is more…

On the other hand, Django’s sister Willa was more reclusive and took to perching on top of the fridge or hiding in baskets. She had an intense glare that was her charm!

Pointed Chinese brush, sumi ink, and watercolour on Fabriano 140# CP.