Original artwork description:

This whimsical watercolor painting depicts two elegant calico cats in traditional robes playing the ancient board game Go, set against a misty classical Chinese landscape. The scene is a lovingly crafted visual reference to an illustrated moment from The Apothecary Diaries, where a Go manual includes a surprising drawing of cats at play—a detail the character Maomao pointedly ignores.

Rendered in soft ink washes and delicate lines, this artwork captures both serenity and subtle humor. It blends traditional East Asian aesthetics with a playful narrative twist, making it a unique piece for lovers of cats, Go, or Japanese light novels.

This is an original watercolor illustration by Olga Beliaeva.

watercolor painting, cat illustration, Go board game art, The Apothecary Diaries art, Japanese novel art, calico cats, Chinese landscape, East Asian ink painting, whimsical animal art, Maomao, Lakan Go book, illustrated Go manual, literary art, traditional robe cats, sumi-e inspired, feline fine art, Japanese light novel, Olga Beliaeva art

Materials used:

watercolor and paper

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