For my next Haunted Mansion inspired piece, I decided I wanted to create my own interpretation of the Changing Cat Woman or "Cat Girl" Portrait as it was sometimes referred to in the plans for the Haunted Mansion.
These little pen & ink watercolors are only 3.2" x 3.5".
She is definitely a part of my first impressions of the Haunted Mansion. During my first few times through the mansion when I was seven or so, I remember her changing from a woman in white into a black panther. In researching the history of this portrait in order to create my drawing I had several choices of which direction to go in.
When
creating a new Haunted Mansion piece, I prefer to refer back to the
earliest renditions of the characters and sometimes even to concept
sketches that Mark Davis or Rolly Crump created when envisioning
different scenes that would be created for the Haunted Mansion.
Looking at Marc Davis’ original concept sketches, they are of a woman in white with a long lock of curling dark hair falling over her shoulder. She completely changes into a full black panther, wearing the same amulet around her neck.
If you compare the concept sketches to the changing portrait that actually ended up being in the mansion, they decided to go with a more severe expression on the face. Her long hair is tucked behind her (perhaps for symmetry when the change occurs in the portrait) and only her face and torso change into a black panther.
As the years went by she became a favorite of mine. I think having the ability to turn into a black cat when you want to would be pretty amazing. And I liked that she was one of the few beautiful creepy characters on the ride. I always wondered what her back story was and how she ended up in the Mansion. A crazy aunt that is a witch perhaps? Madame Leota's sister? I'd love to know your thoughts on who she might be.
A revision was made to her in 2005. Her clothing was changed to a dark color and she now turns into a white tiger. Truthfully, I’m not a fan of the latest rendition. Black cats and haunted houses just belong together. Where did this white tiger come from? It’s just a little too Las Vegas for me. Leave the white tigers to the magic shows. The Haunted Mansion is a place of witchcraft, hauntings and spells.
After taking all of the different possibilities into consideration, I decided that I liked the softer expression of the woman in the original concept sketch and the full black panther body and I went in that direction.
I also chose to make these tiny little paintings in size, 2.5" x 3.5". There is something I find so charming about painting tiny little watercolors. I added a dime to this photo to give you an idea of scale on the size.
