Michele Mikesell, The Cat, Oil on Canvas, 2025

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The Cat - Oil on canvas - 60 x 60 inches / 152 x 152 cm

Michele Mikesell’s The Cat … Read more The Cat - Oil on canvas - 60 x 60 inches / 152 x 152 cm

Michele Mikesell’s The Cat radiates an uncanny elegance, blending surrealist portraiture with aristocratic poise. A seated figure—dressed in harlequin-patterned trousers and a dramatic Elizabethan ruff—stares out with a measured, feline composure. The posture is regal yet relaxed, the gaze intelligent and self-aware. Against a moody teal-blue background and red patterned floor, the composition evokes the stately grandeur of classical portraiture reimagined through a dreamlike, contemporary lens.

Mikesell’s masterful use of texture and tone gives the work its rich psychological depth. The layered surface reveals subtle scratches, glazes, and soft transitions that suggest both time and introspection. Every element—from the soft flesh tones to the checkered fabric—feels intentional, balanced between control and spontaneity. The interplay of geometry and gesture, pattern and presence, transforms the figure into something both human and symbolic: part court jester, part sovereign observer.

Despite its title, The Cat depicts no literal feline—rather, it channels the qualities of one: grace, independence, and quiet dominance. The figure becomes an archetype of composure within chaos, a surreal guardian of elegance. This large-scale oil painting exemplifies Mikesell’s signature style—bridging the fantastical and the familiar, the refined and the uncanny. A striking statement piece for collectors drawn to contemporary figurative art with roots in surrealism, symbolism, and old-world grandeur. This piece has an attribution mark,
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