All Tangled Up

I gave the cat the box of yarn and got my camera ready.  The cat, who wants to get into everything I have, was wary... He probably sensed that I wanted him to play in the yarn, get all tangled up... So he sat and looked at it for a long time. Finally, I took out a ball and rolled it around.  He watched it roll then decided he needed a bath so started licking his paw. Really, Buff... Are you kidding me? 

He did finally decide to play.

When I got out the embroidery thread to make the companion piece, he was very much interested in getting a paw on that.

She bought a triangle bangle.

She liked that it dangled and jangled.

 It would hang from the collar of kitty.

He fought the triangle bangle!
He hated the dangle and jangle! 

She angled her brow and cooed and kissed.

He arched his back and spat and hissed! 

She finally took pity and wrangled poor kitty.

The bangle was tangled, his feelings were mangled,

But she really did like the spangly bangle.

With a twist of her wrist, the cat was dismissed.

Though tangled and mangled, she couldn't resist.

She looked in the mirror and thought it was pretty.

Then stroked the neck of collarless kitty.

Our challenge for Creative Companions this week was "Tangled."

Original Oil Painting on 6"x 8" Wrapped Canvas.

Click Kitty & Yarn if you'd like to purchase this piece.

Cat in the Box

 Honestly, Buff!
What is it about a box?

Someone to Watch Over Me

I want each my paintings to tell a story on canvas. 
I feel like this one does.

I love it when out of the blue I get an e-mail asking if I might be able to do a special painting for someone.  Once I learn the reason... the story, I begin to bond with the story that the blank canvas will begin to tell.

Before I can begin, though, there are details to work out:  Which photo will be used? (The best photograph doesn't necessarily make the best painting.) What size of canvas will be right? (It depends both on the subject and on the commitment of wall space.) What shape of canvas will be right for the composition? (Square, vertical, horizontal) What is the timeframe? (A few weeks or as soon as possible?)

I want to make clear that none of my paintings is ever going to be an exact duplicate of a photo. I like having freedom to use my artistic license when needed.  While I won't make up random things, I can make tweaks. So the last question is always, "Is there anything you would like to see changed, removed, or added?"  

This time I got some pretty specific requests.

Could you change the neighborhood outside the window to a fall scene?

Could you incorporate a red heart or some red hearts somewhere?

Could you add a redheaded woodpecker?

Wow... ummm... okay... those are some pretty specific requests.  My e-mail reply probably said, "Sure!" My mind was probably reeling with, "How in the world am I going to accomplish those!"  But, because I knew the story... the reasons, I knew I'd find a way. And, I did.

I hope that the real story is honored by the story put on canvas.

We'll see if this works... 

I thought you might like watching the process. Let me know what you think!

Original Oil Painting on 11"x 14" Wrapped Canvas

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Kitty in a Basket

I know that not everyone is a cat person, but for those of us who are, it's hard to understand why everybody doesn't love cats.   Our kitty, Buff, wants to be where the people are (Sounds like the beginning of the Little Mermaid's song, doesn't it.) all... the... time...

He'd prefer to lie across the keyboard... It's just the most comfortable spot!
He feels like stretching out in the middle of the kitchen floor... That seems to be where the action is! 
He needs to bat at the cords... They're so tempting just dangling there!
He didn't know that people were going to begin hoarding toilet paper when he did THIS a few weeks ago.

He's been my best buddy since the evening
he showed up at our backdoor before an icy storm.

But... He's found a new favorite place... 

The computer bag on the chair beside Ron in his new work-from-home office (a.k.a. the kitchen table) has the most wonderful little patch of sunshine.

I hope you are staying safe in these uncertain days. As you're social distancing, I hope you have a little patch of sunlight or a basket to curl up in. 😉

Thanks to my friend Terri for letting me use her photo of her kitty Mateo as a reference.

Original Oil Painting on 12"x 12" Wrapped Canvas
Click "Kitty in a Basket" if you'd like to purchase this little painting.

Harper, a Black & White Kitty

My blog friend, Sandra, asked me to paint Harper (named for the author of To Kill a Mockingbird) as a birthday present for her daughter.  Actually I'd painted Harper before. Look very closely at the painting "Harmony"... at the base of the third tree... Surprise!  There she is!! 
Not only do I like to tell the story behind my paintings, I want to know their stories while I'm painting them!
Sandra told me this:

"Harper and Dayna bonded immediately in a playroom in the Windsor Humane Society. Dayna needed a feline friend: she’d recently lost her previous rescue to feline leukaemia, and she was in college far away from her family. This fluffy, gentle, black and white ‘skunk’ brought a calm presence to Dayna’s home. Harper is her heart, her daemon."

Knowing this kitty's story makes me love her even more.  
Well, that and the fact that I think she may be a long lost relative of my Pounce!

Original Oil Painting on 11"x 14" Wrapped Canvas
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Annabelle & Her Kitty

What do you suppose they're looking at?

I love it when an in image leads me to wonder, ask a question, then use my imagination... 
However you choose to make the story go, it begins with a little girl and her kitty watching... watching...

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