meet campari

She's 13. She's a black cat (obviously). And she's basically the reason for everything here.

Diane holding Campari up to her face in front of tall evergreen trees at dusk — Us, in the woods.

her story (and mine)

I started painting during the pandemic, and she was my subject. Over and over.

early painting of Campari, a black cat with pale green eyes, on a sage green background — One of the very first paintings I ever did of her.

black and white oil painting of Campari's face on a warm gray background — My first oil painting of her.

People saw those paintings and asked me to paint their animals, so I ended up building a side gig painting photorealistic animal portraits while working a 9-to-5.

photorealistic painting of a black and white spotted dog on a pink background

photorealistic painting of a fawn and white French bulldog on a green background

From my photorealistic portrait days.

Then, two years ago, I burnt out. On my career, on everything, including my ability to paint. I moved to the woods, and Campari came with me.

She'd spent 11 years as an indoor cat. Out here, she got to experience the outdoors for the first time in her whole life. Grass! Rodents! Sunbeams that don't come through a window!

In the past two years, we've both been re-wilding, in a sense. Watching her trust her own dormant instincts has helped me trust mine.

Painting her is how I found my way back to painting. And it's helped me find, and keep developing, a new artistic voice that's looser and more expressive.

Even the name little mammal is inspired by her. So much of this is. The sticker club is kind of me just admitting that out loud, once a month, in the mail.

painting her lately

Here's some of what painting her has looked like over the past year — that looser, more expressive voice I keep talking about. The stickers will keep wandering like this: different mediums, different moods, whatever's pulling at me that month. Always her, though.

oil painting of Campari in blues and purples with mint green eyes on a mustard and orange background

moody painting of Campari's face, dark fur on a deep teal background

painting of Campari with bright green eyes on a hot pink background

loose abstract painting of Campari's face in black, orange, pink and green

neon painting of a cat face in blue, pink, orange and green

close-up painting of Campari's face in periwinkle and red with big green eyes

charcoal drawing of Campari curled up asleep

the muse, a gallery

Campari asleep in a fluffy bed in a patch of sun — Woods-era Campari. Full-time sunbeam enthusiast.

Campari sitting on a bed with her back legs splayed out — Yoga mode: mastering Upavistha Konasana.

Campari reaching toward the camera with her claws out — No paps please.

Campari sitting in a Christmas tree with a string of lights draped on her — Seasonal work.

Campari wearing a black baseball cap with a cheeky embroidered slogan — She picked the hat.

A blurry upside-down photo of Campari looking up at the camera — Her best angle.

how the sticker club happened

This started out as a normal sticker club. I had six subscribers, all friends and family, who were honestly doing it more to support me than because they needed stickers. So most of the stickers stayed with me, and I just… kept making them of Campari.

Partly because I liked them the most. But also because they were legit the best pieces. You can see the love in them. The intimacy.

And then one day I was like: wait. Maybe I should just roll with this?

get a black cat in the mail

One black cat sticker every month, inspired by her, in a different medium or style each time.

join the black cat sticker club