Bucket of Kittens

I found a photo of three kittens in a bucket in one of my daughter's calendars that I liked, so I dug out my watercolors and got to work. I had forgotten how much more intense the watercolor paints are versus the watercolor pencils I've been using for the past month or two. My plan is to do this image with the watercolor pencils as well, so I can contrast the different effects that I can create.

I still need to add some shading to the bucket and finish up the kitten faces, but I'm happy with how this is turning out. I'm using my Winsor & Newton Artist watercolors on 200lb. paper. This is the first time I've used a paper this heavy and I like that I haven't needed to stretch it first.