The Maine Coon looks like what would happen if a small wild cat decided to move indoors without entirely giving up the wild. The large, tufted ears, the long flowing coat, the full ruff around the neck, the bushy tail and the size — Maine Coons are among the largest domestic cat breeds — all suggest an animal that has not completely resolved the question of whether it belongs inside or out. Portrait styles that work with wild beauty and natural grandeur find the Maine Coon one of the most compelling cat subjects available.
Coat colours and how they render
Maine Coons come in almost every colour and pattern — tabby, solid, tortoiseshell, bicolour and their smoke and shaded variants being among the most common. The coat is always long, flowing and semi-waterproof, with a dense undercoat, a silky outer coat, a distinctive ruff and heavily tufted paws and ears.
Brown tabby Maine Coons — the most classic and most popular colour — produce oil painting results of exceptional warmth and depth. The tabby markings in the long flowing coat have a natural tonal complexity that the layered approach of oils renders with real richness. The ruff, catching the light differently from the body coat, creates a natural focal point around the face.
Silver tabby Maine Coons have a cool, luminous quality that watercolour and impressionist styles handle with particular atmospheric quality. The silver coat picks up the light in ways that produce portraits with an almost ethereal quality.
Black smoke Maine Coons — where the outer coat appears black but the undercoat is white, creating a smoke effect when the cat moves — produce oil painting results of extraordinary depth and mystery.
Red and orange Maine Coons have the warmest coat tones and suit oil painting and golden hour styles.
Recommended styles for Maine Coons
Oil Painting — the strongest choice for tabby and darker-coated Maine Coons. Watercolour — beautiful for silver and lighter-coloured Maine Coons. Impressionist — handles the long flowing coat and the complex tabby patterns with real affinity. Nature Portrait — the Maine Coon's wild beauty suits the natural setting of this style. Renaissance — the grandeur of the breed's size and ruff suit the formal portrait tradition.
Photo tips
The ruff is the Maine Coon's most distinctive portrait feature and should be clearly visible in the source photo — a cat that is sitting upright with the chest and neck visible shows the full ruff. The tufted ears are equally distinctive and should be clearly lit. Maine Coons are large enough that full-body photos are practical and worth attempting — including the long body and bushy tail in the source photo gives the portrait the sense of scale that makes the breed impressive. Natural light from the front shows the facial features clearly through the surrounding ruff.