March 31, Sat

Whew!  This is the last cat.  Ting.  Sounds like another pretty incredible animal, polydactyl like my own beloved Jeebo~  I tried to get her feet in there...

"Ting was a wonderful girl. Even people who weren't huge cat fans loved Ting. She was so polite, petite, happy, goofy, friendly. I got her as a kitten when I was in high school. She was with me through many life shifts - even becoming quite the traveler when my husband joined the Navy. Even though she grew up with me she truly belonged to my husband. We had her until she was 19 years old and she stayed so sweet her whole life, even near the end when she was sick. We miss her every day- especially her vocalizations (she was half Siamese) and her beautiful blue eyes!"

 I will be posting more info about the show at Diamond's~  at this point, I am intending to hang the show next Friday, April 6th, and it will be up until May 20th at 1618 Central Avenue Northeast  Minneapolis, MN 55413, and I am planning on an Opening/Celebration on Friday April 27th from 6-8~  We will get your paintings to you on or after May 20th!

Thank you SO much for following this month!  I will be returning to my bi-weekly painting posts until the "30 Dogs in 30 Days" of July!  Keep that in mind if you or anyone you know is interested in getting their sweet lil' ol' mutt in on that one!

Kat!

March 30, Friday!

I actually have one more painting tomorrow!  Couldn't stop rolling once I got started!  Do take a minute to check out all the cats here on my webpage~  some of them have been re-done!

And here is a "Three-For-Friday"!  I am someone who appreciates challenges (thought sometimes I imagine my ever-loving husband would prefer I spend more time with him than with my paintbrushes...)  and so I agreed to do three cats today, and these are NICK and NORA and NELL!

"Nick, Nora, and Nell are my Three Musketeers. They came into my life along with three other kittens, all very sick and in need of a foster home. I cared for all six kittens for many weeks and nearly lost Nora and Nell. They all survived: two went to my friend Ann and one went to my friends the Clarks, and I kept N, N, and N! (Nellie would have been put down by the shelter if I hadn’t kept her, because she was a weak, sickly runt).   Nick and Nora are named after Nick and Nora Charles of "Thin Man" fame, and Nellie is simply Nellie (or Nell or Nelly Belly).  Nick’s my ‘big panther”– big, black, and sleek – and a real mama’s boy.  Nora is sweet as pie and a bit wobbly due to cerebellar hypolasia.  She walks, runs, and wrestles as best she can – she doesn’t know she has any limitations! Nell had severe vestibular disease as a kitten and has a permanent head tilt to the left, so she always looks inquisitive.  Despite being the sickliest one, she grew to be a star acrobat and athlete. They are all such dears, I could keep writing, but I’ll stop now!"

I am so glad to know so many people who rescue animals!  And did I mention that a percentage of all profits is going to Caring for Cats?  It is a No-Kill Cat Rescue Shelter in St Paul~
Thank you all!

March 29th, Thursday

Sometimes I feel like Thursday is when I get things done.  Usually it's Tuesday.  I read somewhere once that Tuesday is the day most work gets done because Monday is when people are recovering from the weekend, Wednesday is hump day and people are just suffering through, Thursday is so close to the weekend you're already sluffing off, and Friday, well forget about it baby!  It's the WEEKEND!
This is Alice.  I greatly enjoyed painting her too, though I was a tad worried about having her eyes closed, but I think it feels a really peaceful piece...

Here's what Alice's loving owner says about her~
"About Alice— she was abandoned in a section 8 house and was pregnant with 5 kitties.  Animal rescue eventually found her and a foster family was secured for her. She delivered 5 babies but only 4 of them lived…….4 girls and they all looked like her…..white with black splotches. When I went to the foster place, I thought I was going to walk away with a kitten but I decided to go with Alice instead. She was so engaging!

I think her time in the lonely house made her really crafty about things b/c there’s nothing……I mean NOTHING…….that gets past her. She can be in the opposite corner of my place and if I rustle a piece of paper, there she is.  She’s a real sweetie, though, despite her auspicious start to life.

When I brought her home, she hid in the back part of the closet for 3 days but I knew her curiosity would take over eventually.  Gradually, I’d see sightings of her until, eventually, I’d see her laying on the side of one dog or on the head of the other one.  I’m now down to one dog and Alice…..and they’re best of friends. They’re really sweet."

March 28th, Wednesday~

I kept thinking today was THURSDAY and that my week is more than half over and I need to get all this stuff done while I still have a few days off, and then I end up spending most of my day trying to figure out how to update my mac to the highest Lion available and it is taking forever to load!  But I did get Mr Brown painted!  And wow, I do really REALLY like this one if I do say so myself-  I think the whiskers totally make the piece.  I will be going back into a lot of the other cats to make sure theirs are peak as well!

And here is Leora's story about Mr Brown- thought I would like to know the origin of his name as well!
"Mister Brown claimed me at the Animal Humane Society by trying to climb onto my head almost four and a half years ago. Ever since, he's been king of our home and hearts, and he knows it."

March 27th, Tuesday!

Okay, now I will admit that we've been in Florida since last monday, and just got home today, and YES I did paint while we were there, and YES all these cats WERE actually painted on their DAYS, believe it or not!  I didn't want to announce to the world that we were out of town as we only left our cats in residence and they are not as reliable as burglar alarms as the dogs are, but the dogs couldn't be depended on to be left mostly to themselves for a week and so were shipped out to friends' houses-  THANK you Rosemary and Amy and Tri and Stitch!
ANYWAY, today is a TWO for TUESDAY because I did two cats this morning and hope they are okay and all~  hopefully, the remaining cats will be painted with a little less panic and a bit more comfort, and I will get to all those little details (like missing whiskers!) on some of the cats that were painted a bit more hurriedly than even I would like....

March 26th, Monday

 This is another amazing cat~  Bobcat!  He does look like he's about to say something....

"Bobcat2 (aka Robert A. New) came to me. He arrived outside my backdoor in early Oct. 1998. My other Bobcat (also a tabby)had died that past summer and I wasn't allowed to bring him inside to a house already full of animals (4 dogs and 3 cats).  He took up residence under my front porch where he would come out each morning and evening for meals.  He would sit up on his hind legs doing what I referred to as the Prairie Bob, to beg for his bowl.  He would add a slight "maeow" by barely opening his mouth.  By January, 1999, I brought him inside.  He was the most social of all cats and made friends with every other animal in the household.  He also talked!  Before each meal he would do the "Prairie Bob" and then say in a clear voice, "I want."  You would reply, what do you want? and he would clearly say "Tuna." You could then ask and when do you want it and he would reply quite clearly again, "now!"  I only wish I would've captured this exchange on video.  He left me more than a year ago at the age of 12 as a result of a horrible illness that he could not overcome.  I still miss him dearly and this is my homage to the best cat in the world. "

And I am honored to be a part of the remembering of this incredible spirit~  thanks!

March 25, Sunday

This is the cat formerly-known-as-Morrison, now known as Mishe, and she had another lovely long name involving "Princess" something when she lived with Julia~  She came from Virginia with my sister Beaner, lived in our basement for a while until I had Duane take her over to his house, where his housemate and our friend Julia decided to take her under her wing for a while, and then when she was unable to keep her, our friend Cami said she could take her.  I do know that something happened to Morrison while I was cat-watching her once, long ago, on Butternut Ave.  She isn't an outdoor cat and somehow got out and I found her and even now I can't remember what made me think she needed to go to the vet, but she has always been a little slow since then, with very large pupils...

I am not sure who will be getting this painting...  someone had better ask me if they think they want it!  Maybe we'll have a drawing....

March 24, Saturday!

This is Sophie, a lovely fluffy greeny-yellowy-eyed cat, watching carefully as you observe her rolling around there on the carpet...
Ran out of time to perfect this one, so I believe this is one that will be played with more this week~
Thanks for following!

March 23, Friday~

Really I just about wrote "Thursday" again...  I am even worse in the summer, at keeping track of what day it is~  that's why I need a calendar and a date book and a personal assistant...

This is Chin, an 18 year young female cat~

and a photo of me preparing to paint her!  Not exactly my home studio...

March 22, Thursday!

Man, I gotta tell ya, it is REALLY hard to keep track of the days when you are on Spring Break...  and even HARDER to find the time to PAINT!!! Holy COW this was a tricky one to squeeze in, and I gotta get going because I need to go somewhere to meet some old friends from an island!

This is a barn cat, that has that intent barn cat look....
and this one you can buy now, in case you missed getting your cat in!  Click here!

March 21, Wednesday!

This is Fattoush, who lives with my sister in Beirut!  Does he look somehow foreign to you?  Are his stripes a little more dignified, and accented?

Here is what my sis has to say about him-  oh and I have to tell you that for most of her life she's been a dog person!

"Fattoush saved me from my first-ever personal training session. I was walking about a block away from my home on my way to the gym when I looked down and on the sidewalk in front of me was a big-eyed slow-moving little kitten. Instinct (be it toward the cute creature in front of me or away from the impending physical punishiment at the gym) led me to reach down and pick him up. There were no other cats around and he'd been left to fend for himself near a vet's office in an alley just off a busy street in Beirut (it was Sat pm and the vet wouldn't open again until Mon). So I called my trainer, cancelled my session, took the kitten home and sent out a desperate Facebook plea for cat-care advice.  I wasn't sure I would keep him or not.  Six months later, Fattoush (so-named after my favorite Lebanese salad) is still my crazy little Lebanese roomie.  He's the first cat I have ever owned and I think his dog-like tendencies have made it much easier on me.  Although let's just say that I have learned the true meanings of phrases like "krazy kat" and "curiosity killed the cat."  I'm just waiting to see what he'll come up with next."

As are most cat owners, Kelli!
xoxo!

March 20th, Tuesday

Today's sweet, wide-eyed, pink-nosed kitty is Zebulon.

"Zebulon was an inheritance, he went to my parents when my Uncle Carl died.  I think he's named after a Civil War general or a battle, but it's Zeb for short.  My parents were not cat people... but now they are!  Zeb doesn't really play, and is choosy who he will associate with.  His nose and footpads are the cutest pink ever.  He prefers his water out of a super size fast food restaurant cup and likes to torment any dogs who visit (just ask Gus!)..."

March 19th, Monday

LUNA!!!!

A lovely kitty from the state of CHEESE~ 
And here's what Rachel has to say about her~
"What can I possibly say about Luna?
She started out as a bit of a vagabond, a gypsy but has made her permanent residence with me.
She is often described as skittish and aloof by others but she's totally fooling them.  She's sweet, loves attention (from me!), purrs like a maniac, loves to snuggle or at least perch on me while I sleep.  She is vain and self conscious which may be why she runs away when others come to visit..."
She DOES look a bit maniacal....

Sunday March 18th

Cripes this life is flying by!  Good lord-  how do we hold on to all this amazing life we're living and remember it long enough to do anything with it!  Whew!

SO this is Calvin!  Another lovely calico, which makes me think that perhaps Calvin is a bit like Carlos, who is another female kitty with a male name.  It is nice that we can grow to fit our names, and sometimes we choose to change them, but sometimes they really do become us!

St Patrick's DAY!1!!

Yippee, all you Irish out there!  THis here is Gypsy, and I imagine he's a true Irish gypsy laddie-O alrighty!  Just look at that smirk there on that sweet and innocent little face!  Who'd believe he's the one who knocked your tea-cup off the kitchen table just to get the milk from the bottom?

Friday March 16!

I almost wrote MAY instead of MARCH....  though it felt more like July today...  I got to go sit on the deck at Psycho Suzie's this afternoon after work, and enjoy a couple strawberry daqueris and a mound of tater tots with some delightful colleagues of mine~  what a great way to start the weekend!

SO here is my friend Barb's son's cat, Tiger!  Another one that I really feel turned out well!  And here is Barb's story about today's feline~
"Tiger is our cat's name.  He is about 6 years old.  He is more like a dog than a cat.  When I am home he follows me around and sits or sleeps wherever he can see me (don't understand that because I am allergic to him and cannot really touch him).  But he really is our son's cat.  Jeff can come home and just call his name and he will come running, jump up on Jeff, put his paws on either side of his neck and just look at him.  He will also give Jeff a kiss (not lick) just a kiss.  We all laugh at that one!  When he was younger, he would run and hide when the 8 grandkids would be over but now he just
finds a safe spot to sit and watch, usually right in the middle of all the excitement!"
He kind of has that look, of a wise and watchful cat~ 
Thanks Barb!

Thursday, March 15th~ BABE!

This is Babe, a sweet, calico-colored cat, also known as tortoiseshell or marmalade in England...

I am amazed at how difficult her eyes were.  That really is the secret to getting the feel of an animal, or a person I imagine, is getting the right size, angle, shape and light in those fragile colored orbs of liquid~
This is a note my friend Linda sent along with the photos of Babe, which I find says a lot about Babe and her personality~
"Here, finally, are some photos of Mom's cat, Babe.  Please note that she has extra small, dainty little front paws.  Mom loves that about her.  (As do we all!)  :)"

I do hope her front paws came out as delicate, dainty, and extra small!

March 14, Wednesday

What is there to say about Squeaky more than she is the fuzzy feline love of my life?   Since we adopted her 3 years ago, she has brought so much cuddly, pudgy kitty love to our lives.  A day cannot begin without some quality kitty lap time.  When she hears the key in the lock, her ears perk and she dashes to the door to greet the newcomer.  And at night, she curls up in the crook of my legs, purring and snoring as she sleeps.

Thus says Squeaky's owner, Jen.

I think Squeaky appears rather nobler than such a diminutive appellation would suggest...
or could it simply be the application of pigment suspended in a medium?...

Tuesday, March 13

 This is Apollo, and I believe I used all the colors on my pallet for this one~  Again I couldn't limit myself to just his face.  Some cats' body language speaks volumes....

Apollo's owner/landlord/caretaker has this to say about him...
"Apollo is an especially lovey dovey 16 year old who likes to take himself on walks, climbs over the fence and hangs out in the neighbor’s yard – and watches us –
He is really a house cat with yard privileges whose meow is rather a quack!"

Yup.  I do so love to paint~  thanks for humoring and supporting me!

March12, Monday, ALVIN!

Alvin's name of course brings to mind a certain rodent, well, maybe not to you...  could just be me, I guess...
This was another back-lit cat, but I do think I managed to bring him up a bit better than I did with Fergie, so yes I will be going back into Fergie again, and Luna too, until I am happy with them because until the owner has actual possession of the paintings, they are still MINE~   mwuah ha ha ha!  And believe me, right now there is a whole passel of cats, watching me from the studio shelves as I type this, and I continually gauge and measure them in my artist's eye as to whether I  still feel they are finished, or not....  though to relieve your minds I don't mess with them if I feel they are finished, and right now I don't have time to mess with them too much anyway!!!
...although now as I upload Alvin and look at him again, I believe I need to go in and take some of that raspberry out of his chin... and I wanted to check with Paula as to whether his eyes are indeed green, or more yellow, as that was difficult to make out from the photo~
Thanks for following me!

Sunday, March 11~

Woody!
Another amazing face, with amazing eyes...
Carla has this to say about Woody~

Been trying to come up with something fitting 

but it boils down to one thing: 

Woody was the absolute BEST cat anyone could ever ask for.

 We adopted him thru ARF when he was just 8 weeks old 

and he was the Prince of the House for 20 wonderful years. 

 I do think this image portrays a very princely feline....  and I know I think my Toby was the best cat anyone could ever

ask for, but I am sure we all feel that way!

March 10, Saturday...

...and my first double pic!  This here is the shiny Sweets with the buddha-like Smokey nestled in the background, my friend Soozin's cats~  and she has this to say about them...

"Smokey Jo was a dumpster kitty; when I found her she was living in a garbage can behind the Movies on 35^th.   She might be a Russian Grey and is very chatty and loving.  Sweets was originally gonna be called Khol due to her amazing black coat but, due to her snuggly personality she had to be called Sweets.  Sweets and Smokey have become best of buddies and are always by each other's side."

I've had to do extra work on Sweet's face, because she looks so darn grumpy and I don't think she's really like that!

March 9, Friday~

And this is Aliana's cat, a fluffy critter again...  and she says...

"Thanks for including my little guy!  His 'official' adpoted name my sister gave him was Ozzy, then I

took over and shortened his name to Oz. We call him Suay Chong Lao because when we were away for months in Thailand, this lady called her cat named Sip Song (which means '12') "Sip Song Suay Chong Lao" or "12, so beautiful already".   Cute. It made us miss ourcat and his nick name, among several, became Suay Chong Lao ever since." 

I did appreciate the multiple colors in that translucent fur, and this is another example of a rather not great photo... really pixalated...

oooooooo so much fun!

Didja catch that moon last night!?

march 8, Emma!

I know Jeremy has been waiting all day to see this!  Sorry she's so late, but life does get in the way of painting!  I do like how she turned out~
Her green eyes strongly suggested a green background~  and I thought I'd play with the idea of whiskers here...
Such an earnest gaze~
Stay tuned!

March 7, FERGIE!

Holy Moses this one was TOUGH!   Dang!  I really had a hard time with the shading and am still not sure I am completely pleased...  all my ego aside, here is what Fergie's owners have to say about her~

"She's gray with colorful spots.  We really like her white coloring on her neck.  Her fur is always soft and she loves to be petted.  She's eccentric and likes to nap.  She likes my oldest daughter best but tolerates the rest of us.  She really likes to smell feet.  She can be dumb because she will run into walls.  She likes to be by people, but rarely likes to cuddle, except when you are on the computer.  Then she wants to sit on your chest and you can't see what you are doing.  She has a set routine and will let you know if you aren't acting fast enough.  She's even been known to poke a person if they aren't acting fast enough."





 I've also been working on Luna some more, because I wasn't completely happy with her either...  I think the problem with both may be the lack of contrast and highlights.  And I am not sure what I can do about that...

Any opinions, oh my faithful readers?

March 6th, Tuesday

This is Gypsy, a ship's cat, with the wind in her fur and the ocean at her back~  here is what our crazy friend Captain Jim has to say about her~
"My cat is gypsy. She is a savannah. African serval and tabby mix. She is on board the Phoenix."

Http://schoonerphoenix.org is the link to see Captain Jim's boat he's been working on out in Puget Sound, I believe...
He'd probably be happy to show it to you too, if you happen to be out there!  And be sure and say hi to Gypsy as well!

Monday March 5th!

It is Duane's birthday today, and I was gonna paint his cat Madison, but I've already painted her and I've NEVER painted a gorgeous fluffy creature like THIS before!
This is Lulu, whose piercing blue eyes grabbed my attention immediately and I decided she did have to be painted full-body rather than just a head or those EYES would've just been TOO MUCH!  And I still would love to try a version of just her head too....
All you cat owners, would you please send me a little note about your cat too, so I can post it with their painting?  I am just so bad at breeds, I really don't know Lulu's origins!  Is she a Himalayan, or a fluffy Siamese?

Help!

Sunday March 4!

I LOVED painting this one!  Kris said this is Carlos, her sweetie's cat and that I had to be sure to try to include the "spilled milk" calico coloring down her sweet little chin~  I love the photo and lOVE how the painting turned out!  Yay!

Here's what else Kris says~  "Carlos is crazy. She bounces off the furniture and walls in her best Tony Hawk impression. Pirates have parrots, but we have Carlos- perching on shoulders for a better view. She sometimes snuggles, with her arms stretched out in front of her, waiting for a manicure. And she is usually purring happily, rumbling away under the cute spilled milk mark on her chin."

March 3, Saturday!

This green-eyed darling is Luna, sometimes referred to as "LooneyTunes" by her adoring owner who rescued her and has worked at creating a comforting life for Lunam who is a bit shy...
Those eyes are brilliant!  She is one of the rare cats that I attempted to photograph myself and it actually worked~  it is a lot more difficult to take photos of other people's cats than it is to take photos of other people's dogs...

Gotta admit, I am already having a gas with this project!  Thank you for supporting it and providing me with an audience!

Friday! March 2!

Ha HAAA!  Look at me go!  Whew!
So, here is Charlie, lying on the kitchen floor.  He's one of those manly cats who goes out galavanting around town and we almost thought we wouldn't be able to include him because he was gone so long, but lo and behold he came home and Lucy was able to get a good photo of him lounging about, recovering...

Those cats...
Stay tuned!

Thursday, March 1~ 30 Cats in 30 Days starts NOW!

Alrighty then, folks!

Here is the revised list for the 30 Cats in 30 Days Project!
 I do reserve the right to move and adjust cats to different days, so this isn't written in stone by any means, and if your cat is not a commission it may be adjusted to make room for a commissioned piece.  If this would really bother you, you can let me know and we'll make sure your cat does get painted.  And I am always willing to take payments per month or week until a piece is paid off~

1- Patrick Corrigan~  Mr Timmons

2- Lucy Bacon~  Charlie

3- Anya Zalyba~  Luna

4- Kris Musto~  Carlos

5- Judy Woodfill~  Lulu

6- Jim Kruse~  Stripey Kitty

7- Stephanie Shippy~  Fergie

8- Jeremy Hansen~  Emma

9- Alaina G~  Suai Chuong Lao

10- Soozin Hirschmugel~  Smokey & Sweets

11- Carla Kennedy~  Woody

12- MaryAnn Miller~  siamese

13- Mollie O’Connor~ Apollo

14- Beth Harrington~ Augie & Mimi

15- Linda Colburn~ Babe

16- Barb Sontag~ 

17- Anita White~  Gypsy

18- Sandee Elftmann~  Calvin

19- Rachel Seppi~  Luna and Zebulon

20- Colleen C~  Boo

21- Kelli Corrigan~  Fatouche

22- Sharon Parker~  Stray Barn Cat

23- Pat Olson~  Chin

24- Duane T~  Madison

25-  Cami Applequist~  Mishe

26- Brook L-T~ 

27- Amy Ballstead~

28- Leora EW~  Mister Brown

29- Janet Hammer

30- Kristin Heiberg~ Nora, Nick, and Nell
31-Jess Pearson~ Ting

AND
Here is the first cat of this March~  this is Mr Timmons, who resides in Kent, WA, near Seattle, with my oldest brother Patrick, who is a Shamanistic Cartoonist and has a blog of his own here  if you'd like to check it out~