Posthumous Portrait of Sebastian

What the painting shows

This watercolour is a memorial portrait of a cat named Sebastian. A ginger cat with a white chin and chest is seen in profile in the bottom left corner. He has his head raised, one eye half closed and his neck stretched out as if sniffing the flowers. His fur is painted in honey yellow, ochre and ginger, with darker stripes suggested in colour.

The cat is surrounded by a lush green garden. Large pink bell- or trumpet-shaped flowers hang from above, with palm-shaped leaves between them and many irregular patches of green standing for shrubs and undergrowth. Behind the garden stands a wooden shed or cabin made of planks, under a blue sky with white clouds.

The painting shows the cat in a calm, everyday moment in a favourite spot, which makes it a warm, tender keepsake of a pet who has passed away.

Technique and style

A vertical watercolour on paper with outlines drawn in fine ink, in the style of a book illustration. The colour is built up in layers (glazes), and the greens show the blooms and hard edges typical of drying watercolour. The outlines and flat patches of colour make it look like a colouring-book page or botanical illustration. It is an example of a memorial pet portrait commissioned after a pet's death.

At a glance

• Medium: watercolour with ink outlines
• Surface: paper
• Orientation: portrait (vertical)
• Dominant colours: ginger, honey yellow, many shades of green, pink, blue
• Subjects: cat, ginger cat, memorial portrait, garden, flowers, watercolour, pet keepsake

Fun fact

About 80% of ginger cats are male, because the gene for orange fur sits on the X chromosome. In 2025 two independent teams, from Stanford University and Kyushu University, finally identified it: the orange colour is caused by a missing stretch of DNA near the ARHGAP36 gene. Memorial portraits also have a long tradition in Poland: in the 17th and 18th centuries, the nobility attached so-called coffin portraits, painted on metal sheets, to the coffins of the deceased.

Want a similar painting?

The Fart studio paints commissioned artwork: portraits of people and pets, landscapes and absurd scenes like this one. You can order a similar piece featuring cat, ginger cat, memorial portrait, starring your own pet, a loved one or your favourite place. Just describe your idea in the contact form and attach a photo.