Lady with Cat

A figure holds a cat close to their body, rendered in loose, gestural charcoal strokes. The composition is intimate and frontal, with the subject’s face simplified into essential features—dark eyes and mouth—whilst organic linear marks suggest hair and fabric. The technique emphasises emotional immediacy over detail, the spare palette of black and grey creating a tender, unembellished quality. Claerhout’s characteristic warmth emerges through his ability to convey affection through economy of line, a sensibility refined across decades of drawing from daily observation.