8 artists illustrate one special cat
Human friendship with cats dates back thousands of years. Cats are idolized and worshipped in some cultures, considered good luck charms in others, and valued for their friendship and even for their ability to control pests. It’s no wonder that felines are featured in art created as long as 4,000 years ago.
While today’s medium of choice for the masses may be Instagram photos and cat videos, in honor of National Drawing Day on May 16 we asked artists to create a portrait of Hero, a cat at Best Friends Animal Sanctuary.
In addition to their creative work on cats, our big-hearted (many of them award-winning) artists have done work for such companies as Anthropologie, Apple, Clinique, Ikea, Nike and Random House, as well as publications such as The New Yorker, Time, Vanity Fair and Wired. All were commissioned pro bono.
Art moves us and also makes us feel and perhaps look at things in a new way. Hero is special to us at Best Friends, not only because she must wear clothes to protect her skin, but because she has a singular personality. There’s no other cat exactly like her.
Each artist saw something different in Hero and sent in stunning illustrations of her in their own individual styles. Some even animated their illustrations.
From a whimsical palette to bold color, let's celebrate National Drawing Day with these illustrations — each of them as unique as Hero herself.
Hero the cat
Photo by Best Friends staff photographer Molly Wald
Artist: Andrea Cáceres, @andrecaceresg
Artist: Lisa Perrin, @madebyperrin
Artist: Mia Charro, @miacharro
Artist: Kirsten Ulve, @kirstenulve
Artist: Mia Page, @drawingintheforest
Artist: Keith Geldof, @keithgeldofillustration
Artist: Ben Wiseman, @bmwiseman
Artist: Victoria Borges, @victoriaaborges