'Pete the Cat' artist visits Roswell gallery

ROSWELL, Ga. - It all began with a scrawny cat in an artist’s studio.  

Alabama-born James Dean adopted the cat from a shelter, named him Pete, and decided to paint him one day.

The rest, as they say, is history.

James Dean is the artist behind the incredibly popular Pete the Cat book series, which launched in 2008 with Pete the Cat: I Love My White Shoes (with text by Eric Litwin) and has continued with dozens of further titles (now written with the artist’s wife, Kimberly) and an Amazon Prime series.  Dean will be appearing at Roswell’s Ann Jackson Gallery for a weekend show, at which he’ll be displaying and selling a selection of his original artwork.  

Born in Fort Payne, Alabama, Dean was an electrical engineer before deciding to focus on art full-time.  The artist’s successful prints of Pete the Cat were the catalyst for creating the first book, which was initially self-published; picked up by HarperCollins, the book soon became a New York Times Best Seller.  

James Dean will be at the Ann Jackson Gallery from Noon to 8:00 p.m. on Friday, and then the show will continue (without the artist present) on Saturday and Sunday; reservations are required to visit the gallery.  For more information on that — and the COVID-19 safety protocols in place — click here.

We spent the morning at the Ann Jackson Gallery, chatting with James Dean about his creation and its enduring popular appeal.  Click the video player to check it out!