20 Wholesome Watercolor Comics Featuring A Cat Giving Mental Health Advice
Hector Janse van Rensburg, aka S**tty Watercolour or just Swatercolour, is a UK-based painter who creates comics using – you guessed it – watercolor. Just recently, the artist created a series of comics featuring a little kitten that gives mental health advice and they’re just what you need to brighten up your day.
In a recent interview with Bored Panda, Hector said that his previous comics were a little less optimistic and this series is sort of a response to that. “They sometimes approach difficult issues like mental health, but the aim of the comics is not to solve the issues but to show a different perspective on them,” said the artist. “That new perspective often comes from the cat, who is based on my cat Ona who passed away a few years ago.”
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#1
Image source: swatercolour
#2
Image source: swatercolour
Hector says that before starting to paint online about 8 years ago, he never had any interest in art – but now it looks like that’s where his life is going. “Ostensibly, that just means I’m sitting at my desk with a brush more often than a keyboard, but it is a whole different type of challenge to think of things about human nature that I want to communicate in my paintings,” shared the artist.
He also adds that it feels like he’s living through his art, which can be difficult.
#3
Image source: swatercolour
#4
Image source: swatercolour
Hector believes that if you rely on some feeling of passion to motivate yourself, you’ll have a hard time. “I’ve been doing a comic every day recently and I tend to wake up, think of an idea, and then have it painted by lunchtime,” shared the artist.
“The schedule around my painting process is quite robotic by now, and I think doing it that way opens up a clear space where you can be more creatively free,” revealed Hector. “If I didn’t have a schedule and instead waited around for inspiration that was good enough to motivate me to paint, then I probably wouldn’t be as productive.”
#5
Image source: swatercolour
#6
Image source: swatercolour
The artist says that the best ideas for his comics come from negative thoughts that he can turn into positive ones. “So I think about the ways in which people can feel bad and how you might approach them as a friend would,” says Hector. “I don’t think I find it too difficult to think of ideas which is probably a testament to how nice my cat was.”
#7
Image source: swatercolour
#8
Image source: swatercolour
“It’s perfectly possible to make happy little wobbly blobs of color and people will enjoy them if the message is good and sincere. There’s probably a boundary of neatness that you should stay within but messiness is cool too,” explained the artist. “Also, most of my pictures look very bad at first, and then it’s only after a while that they come together. I think that’s because a few wobbly blobs on their own look like an accident, but a finished painting of wobbly blobs looks purposeful.”
#9
Image source: swatercolour
#10
Image source: swatercolour
#11
Image source: swatercolour
#12
Image source: swatercolour
#13
Image source: swatercolour
#14
Image source: swatercolour
#15
Image source: swatercolour
#16
Image source: swatercolour
#17
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#18
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#19
Image source: swatercolour
#20
Image source: swatercolour
Got wisdom to pour?