Oil Painting of Cat - WIP

I've done this subject before as a watercolor, now I'm trying it as an oil painting. It's a cat named Amber and the reference photo is from the WetCanvas library of copyright free images. The painint measures 9"x12".

This painting is on gessoed art board. This is the first time I've tried oil on this surface. I like how smooth it is but one problem is that, without any tooth to hold on to it, the charcoal I used for the under-drawing wouldn't stick! Oh well, next time I'll just do the underdrawing in paint instead. This first picture shows where I have outlined the drawing with a light red and cobalt blue mixture and then blocked in some of the large areas. The blanket will eventually have folds and the background will be darker and there will be a door way in the upper left hand corner, hopefully balancing out the composition a little.

In the second picture I've started to add some of the stripes and markings of the cat. I haven't started adding any highlights yet, that light area in the lower right hand corner is just the light reflecting off the oils in the paint.

Here in the third picture I've started to work in the white fur and the flesh tones of the nose and ears.

In the fourth picture I've continued to refine the white fur, blocked in the eyes, and started to work on some of the pale orange areas like the rings around the eyes the fur on the left side (cat's right side.)

Continued to work on fur, adding stripes and greater texture to fur on breast and refining shape of muzzle and ears. Had to stop at this point because I want to let it dry a little before I started getting into smaller details.