March 30, Baby Sea Turtle

My sister Colleen is living in Brisbane at the moment, finishing up her doctorate in conservation with native peoples (I'm sure she'll correct me and I can tell you more!) and in her time there she's photographed fairey penguins and sea turtles, and this is one of the photos she sent me of a hatchling sea turtle (is it a Green, Beaner?) in Queensland where they are pushing a conservation effort and raising them in captivity for release.  I think.

And this was a turtle hatchling at the 
Queensland museum from this morning. Cute, eh?

Here's what Beaner wrote me this morning after she saw this one!

You did a great job! Fantastic colours and shapes and flow!

This one is a flat back sea turtle, which was next to the smaller greens. Most will be released and a few kept for the sealife aquarium. Wish you guys could come visit it!

Love you,

Beaner

6x6 acrylic on panel, $100 click HERE for your own Aussie Sea Turtle!

March 29, Yumosh!

I believe this is the last cat of the month, Yumosh, a gracious looking fluffy white with black markings~  love that fur, and those slits of green eyes~

6x6 acrylic on panel, $100 SOLD

March 28, Raskalnikov

I have to admit this was a trickier painting-  the eyes of my subjects are usually the most compelling part of the piece, and Raskal's eyes are closed.  And the composition and the soft, monochromatic pallet made this a challenge, I am now happy with it.  I hope Harper is too!

This is what she wrote to me~
This is a picture of Raskalnikov, nicknamed Raskal. Raskal was my beautiful, loving, mischievous companion taken too soon. Raskal filled many roles in the lives of those who knew him. He was a schemer, a trouble maker, a brother, and a sweet companion. He happily orchestrated scenarios in which chaos would ensue and all the blame would be put squarely on his brother, Boo's, furry shoulders. But despite his mob-boss tendencies, you couldn't help but love him. He instinctually knew when I needed a cuddle after a bad day, or when I was having an asthma attack and needed to be left alone. RIP, sweet boy. You are missed.

8x8 acrylic on panel, sold

March 27, An Easter Sunday Bunny!

I do have a cat I am supposed to paint today, but I didn't get the photo yet so we'll postpone that one and I present a BUNNY for Easter Sunday!  This is another one of those sweet bunnies from the Art Center in Indian Rocks Beach, Florida!  I loved the negative space around his figure- yes, we DO know this was the male.  He got busy under the glass topped cafe table while we were eating lunch, making more bunnies...

Hope you have a great Easter, and that the warm smells of spring lighten your heart!

9x12 oil on panel, $215 click HERE to add this bunny to your collection!

March 26, Garfield!

Here's a lovely orange tabby, with another great story!  Really, that's part of what I love most about these projects is that opportunity to hear how other cats found their people.  We are such a bunch of unique individuals who have shared similar experiences!
And Garfield's story~

We found Garfield  as a stray in a Wal Mart parking lot.  He was hurt and very sick, and could hardly walk.  We gained his trust and were able to pick him up so we could get him to our vet.  With good medical help, lots of TLC, and tons of love, Garfield slowly began to heal and get better.  We decided to keep him and from day one, Garfield has shown his appreciation and love to us!  He is a very sweet and mellow boy.  He loves to be petted and is so happy in his new home. He loves to be near us and his purrs are a welcome sound!  He paws us gently in the face each morning  causing us to wake with a laugh!   True to his name, which our son chose, he loves his food!  We are so lucky to have found Garfield and we love him so! 

8x8 acrylic on panel, sold

March 25, Bela!

Another mostly black kitty! LOVE those shiny fur coats-  this is Bela, named after Bela Lugosi, though I think OUR Bela is a lot more eye-friendly than his name-sake!  And this is what Diane, his loving owner, says of him~

I saw a photo of poor little Bela online and knew that I just had to go rescue him from the animal shelter.  I drove right up there and got him  He not only had an upper respiratory infection but a wicked parasite as well that made him throw up everything he ate.  So it was off to the 24-hour kitty hospital with him and after 2 days there and then 2 days at my regular vet he was starting to get better.  It was really touch and go though because he was so starved and skinny - I wasn't sure he was going to make it.  Bela and I bonded in our tiny back bedroom for two weeks while he recovered and got over being contagious and now he's my constant companion, a regular love bug.  He is deathly afraid of anyone else though!  He still has the "little kitty found in the field" in him and runs like lightning whenever anyone goes near him.  I'm crazy about him and figure that trip to the animal shelter was one of the best trips I have ever made.

 8x8 acrylic on panel, $175 sold

March 24, Brisbane and Ayer!

Another double kitty painting-  this one is 6x8 on canvas-  Duane didn't have time to cut me a 6x8 panel and I couldn't find one to purchase at all- so this is a different texture for me entirely.  I wonder if you can tell in the photo...  I did like painting around the edges, which was fun because the cats are in a bathtub so it's kinda backwards with the edges folding around and under instead of up and around.  I like the shadows too!
And my sister is in Australia right now, in Brisbane as a matter of fact-  I think I have to ask Gayle a bit more about why these are Australian named American Curls...

Yes! They are Australian inspired names. :). Mom (FIV+) is Sidney.  Her litter is Ayer (he was the runt), Brisbane, Noosa, Matilda and the 2 outliers Peppadew (foster coordinator insisted) and Zydeco.  American Curls

6x8 acrylic on canvas, $130 sold

March 23, Bo and Mo!

Wahoo!
Got these two painted this morning!  And a lovely, snowy March morning it is~  this is Mo and Bo, and they are another of those cat puddle kitties!  There's something so satisfying about creating those multiple tones of dusky tawny oranges, on the black panel, with just a hint of the black showing through to give the color some weight~  I love it!

6x6 acrylic on panel, sold~

6x6 acrylic on panel, sold!

March 22, Conrad

Another later night painting, for me anyway!  This is Conrad~  did I mention how much I enjoy painting black animals?  Though yes, I agree, they are darned tricky to catch!  Here's what Conrad's mom said about his fur~

Black cats are very hard to photograph.  The camera never catches the sable depths in their fur.  All his pictures come out looking flat. I hope he isn't just as hard to paint...

12x12 acrylic on panel, sold

March 21, Haffy

Much better!  Getting up in the morning, walking the dogs, painting a cat-  such a great way to start the day!  Next, on to our tax appointment!
This is Haffy~  I love his green eyes~  and the background was fun too!
Here's what we know of Haffy~

"Large in body, large in spirit~ Determined cuddler and fierce hunter- the perfect male- sorely missed."

6x6 acrylic on panel, $100 click here to make this your own!

March 20, Ghengis

Wow, this has been a busy day-  I just finished painting Ghengis now, at 10:30 at night, which is highly unlike me, but Ive been working on tax prep all day (yes, well I DID go to Palm Sunday mass with my mom, and then took Max to Chuckee Cheese for Jesse's Birthday party, but aside from THAT) and I have to say I feel MUCH better now that I've gotten my painting done for the day!  I promise I'll have tomorrows done earlier- and that promise is to you and to me!
And you may be wondering how such a cute little kitty got such a powerful name~
Christi explains~

I got him as a little kitten out of a free box of kittens that a friend of a co-worker brought to my work. He was the most terrified and neurotic so I needed him. When I brought him home, I was worried that my oversized, somewhat aggressive siamese would tear him apart, but the kitten chased the full grown siamese around my apartment. I had an alter with a statue of Buddha, flowers, pictures, a candle and incense. The kitten knocked all of it onto the floor, one by one. I proclaimed him the destroyer of everything Genghis Kahn.

6x6 acrylic on panel, $100 click HERE for Khan!

March 19, George & Martha!

I rarely manage to squeeze two cats into a square format, and it's even harder to do it small like this, but this worked with the composition!  And I loved what Rosemary wrote about them too~

They are siblings from the same little, born almost 7 years ago. They do this cat "puddle" every day.

6x6 acrylic on panel, $100~  click HERE to make them your own!

March 18, Mascara!

I had to paint this little kitty, because she totally reminded me of a favorite character in a children's book series I loved as a child, the Jenny the Cat books by Esther Averill!  Jenny always wears a red scarf, and when I saw this confident, open eyed cat wearing a red scarf I had to paint her too!

And here's the note I got with her-
Hobbies including wearing scarves and dreaming of being a scarf model.

6x6 acrylic on panel, $100 sold!

March 17, MacKenzie for St Patrick's Day for BECKY!!!!

A green eyed kitty with a sorta Irish name!  Yes!
And a great story too, which actually seems a bit Irish in nature, to my mind...

Becky's husband brought MacKenzie home after their beloved orange tabby passed away. Her full name is Fiona MacKenzie Cat, or FMC. She was so tiny and sweet, but her family would all soon learn the sassy ways of calico cats! The house MacKenzie came to live in always had about 5 or 7 kids running around even though only 3 lived there; consequently she became part of the imagined games these kids liked to play. As a result, she might be the only cat who has been formally baptized (complete with a throne and "religious" procession) by a non-ordained, 12 year old priestess, and then set up with not one, but two, godfathers. 

8x8 acrylic on panel, sold!

March 16, Moose!

And this is Moose!  Who has a sweet story of lucky circumstances, and I don't know how he got this name~

Moose was abandoned on the doorstep of a friend in Miami. Her dad, my neighbor, works for an airline so they were able to fly to Miami to get the kitten and bring him back to live with us. Just days after responding to the FB post below, Moose was a member of our family. They weren't quite right about the "sweet" part, he's more spunk than cuddles, but he's definitely the prettiest cat ever. And we love him!

6x6 acrylic on panel, $100 click HERE for your own MOOSE!

March 15, Meydi

And another glorious cat, with those depths of galaxy eyes...
This is Meydi, a pet of a friend who has this to say about this sweet faced being~

Between kisses and cuddling, Medele (Meydi) leaps tall buildings at a single bound and balances on the slimmest of handrails.

6x6 acrylic on panel, $100 

March 14, Gwen!

Have I mentioned how much I love birds?  I've had my own birds in my life, mostly finches and a few parakeets in High School, and then cockatiels as an adult, and a loving sun conure named Sunny, followed by an umbrella cockatoo named Nemo, who I hope is still happily living with my ex somewhere in California...
Those bright little black button eyes hold an intelligence for sure!  I loved all my birds~  it's amazing to cuddle a creature who could do some damage with their beak if they took a mind to, but who are gentle enough to preen your eyebrows.  A trusting bundle of feathers and fluff, sitting on your shoulder-  there's nothing like it~
This is Gwen!  And I included the first photo her loving owner sent me~  it is a nice shot of Gwen's home, and maybe I'll paint it later~

6x6 acrylic on panel, $100 click here to have a Gwen of your own!

March 13, Eliza Bunlittle!

Gotta love those creative names!  And I don't think I've often come across a blue-eyed bunny...

Eliza was adopted from the Coon Rapids Animal Humane Society. My boy bunny Maurice and I went to meet her. She gave us each a sweet little kiss and we knew she was coming home with us! She is named after Eliza Doolittle from My Fair Lady. She passed away from a sudden illness, but will forever be our beautiful little blue-eyed girl.

6x6 acrylic on panel, $100 click HERE to make this your bunny!

March 12, Chester Anderson

Brian is a creative guy, who has of course named his cat creatively. I'm sure this story is true~

Chester was about 7 years old when we adopted him, and he has a bit of a shady past. Under x-rays, a slight limp was revealed to be the result of three pieces of buckshot in his back leg! My best guess is that he was hired muscle for an international drug cartel, and that he received his wounds during an FBI raid. After offering to testify against his former employers, he entered the Witness Protection Program and landed in Minnesota. He has mellowed significantly, and now enjoys basking in a sunbeam, or curling up next to the heating vent on a cold day.

I gotta say, this is much more layering and softer than my usual-  I had a fresh pallet going which means my paint was thinner, and I had a new brush which always changes the feel!  It really is amazing how much the brush can have to do with your style and your work, so try switching it up!

6x6 acrylic on panel, $100 click here to add Chester to your collection!

March 11, "Miette"

This is a sweet-faced kitteh, reclining on a cushion~  I am thinking there is a story to go with her, but I can't find it!
We've had a bit of a sick day here in Minnesota, futzing with earaches and amoxicillan, heating pads and ibuprofen... along with new bathroom construction.  Quite a bit for a six year old (and his not-feeling-the-greatest-either mom), who is now lying gamely behind me on the couch, playing on my phone and watching "Wild Kratts"...
SO I did get some time to paint this one-  and it is the biggest one of this month, a 12x12!  And I did go back into this one and I adjusted her ear and her eyes, and she feels MUCH more kitten-like now!  Yay!

12x12 acrylic on hardboard, sold

March 10, "Beach Iguana"

And this is a photo sent to me from my friend when she and her sweetie were in Mexico visiting her uncle and found this fellow out on the beach...  He's so regal, and kinda mean looking.
It was a bit of a challenge getting all those amazing textures and colors on this beastie~  And I think he's bigger than most cats...
Ah well!

6x6 acrylic on panel, $100 click here to have HRH in YOUR house!

March 9, Daisy!

Ah~  THIS felt more comfortable to paint today, than the bunny yesterday!  Isn't it funny, how we get into set patterns?  And cats aren't as comfy for me as dogs, either, but this cat felt fantastic to paint!  And here is the lovely Daisy's little story~  from Shari and Bill!

Daisy (Doodlebug or Dood)

I still remember the day I went to the Humane Society just to look and see what it was like. I looked in one of the socialization rooms and there she was looking up at me and I knew right then she was the one for us.

She was a very sweet somewhat shy girl but also liked to be around people. Some of her favorite things were sleeping on a blanket on her mom’s lap, sitting in front of a heat vent and laying on the arm of her dad’s chair while he read.

She would greet us from the kitchen window when we came home and then would meet us at the door. Daisy brought so much joy to our lives. We were lucky to have had her with us for 15 years. She will remain in our hearts forever.

8x8 acrylic on panel, $175 SOLD

March 8, Love Bunny

Here's one of a pair of buns-  I was going to try to paint the two together but it was a bit more than I wanted to fit into a 6x6 panel~  and it is kinda amazing how tricky it is, getting this fella to look round and fluffy!  I am pleased with his twinkling eye and wrinkling nose~  and those velvet ears!  Always my favorite part of a rabbit...

And here is what Nanci has told me about this beautiful creature, whose name is Mandi~
That is my sweet big girl (12b French Lop) Mandi. She came as a 3 yr old from a confiscation of more than 230 rabbits in a hoarding situation. She was very sweet, but sadly only lived to be about 7 yrs old. I spent a year nursing her as she became paralyzed in her back legs. We spoiled her rotten and loved her to pieces for the short time she was with us.

6x6 acrylic on panel, $100 click HERE to love this bunny!

March 7, Greybird!

Yay!  Wow, this was a late one!  I usually try to get all these done earlier in the day, but things have gotten a bit nutty around here... ack!
SO here is my first bird!  I'm SO happy with that face!  You can just see him smiling!
And here is what Bethany says about her feathered friend...

My father purchased Greybird and his mate, Yuletide, for my sister and I when we were kids. As you can see, we were much more imaginative with her name than with his. But despite his unassuming name, Greybird was no ordinary bird. He was a remarkable friend who delighted in the company of his human companions and exuded a social intelligence far beyond what many gave him credit for. He lived for 20 long years and will always be remembered as an intelligent, charismatic and resilient bird who loved to eat noodles and shred paper.

6x6 acrylic on panel, $100 sold~

March 6, Ben the Barn Cat!

We spent the last two evenings staying up much later than our usual 9:30-10 bedtime (Fri we went to Ladysmith Black Mambazo at Orchestra Hall, and last night was a party for Duane's birthday!) so it was lovely to get up kinda slowly (for us, 7:30am) and get to painting this sweet faced barn kitty!  I am enjoying those mixes of colors to make white~

And here is what Connie wrote about this lovely!

Ben is 12 years old. She lives in our barn. She never ventures out. When she was born she reminded me of my blonde haired( white) cute nephew Ben. I called up Ben and asked him if I could name the cat after him because it was so adorable and looked like him. He said sure!! We found out Ben was a girl but did not change her name!

8x8 acrylic on wood, $175 sold!

March 5, Tango!

You know it takes two to TANGO!  Wahoo!
It's a beautiful sunny Saturday afternoon in the hood and my little sis and I are sitting on our sunny front porch, sipping wine, while Duane attaches railings to the new back deck and Max wildly sweeps the sidewalk~ Hope your day is going at least as well!

And this is Tango!  I love painting cats' eyes- they are so often a challenge of shine and shadow, liquid in solid form, and I am so pleased when they turn out halfway decent~  here's what his ever-loving owner says of this sassy feline~


Tango loves Ingebretsen's double smoked ham, chewing pretty ribbons, and sleeping on top of the washing machine, during the spin cycle. 

6x6 acrylic on panel, sold~

March 4, Ocean!

This is Ocean, whose sibling I've painted previously, and so apparently there is some jealousy involved here and we need to rectify the situation by making sure Ocean is also properly represented on the walls of their home, so here we go!  

She was fun to find colors for, with all that calico coloring, soft tawny browns and grey, with her white notes and those green eyes.  And you gotta know that I use a limited palette of Golden heavy body acrylics in quinacridone magenta, primary yellow, phtalo blue/red shade, pthalo blue/green shade and titanium white.  That's it!  And I mix all the colors of all the paintings on this blog using those four colors!  

Maybe I'll start another project where I use different colors and we'll see what happens!

Hee!

6x6 acrylic on panel, SOLD

And don't forget to sign up for Painting Lessons!  Thursday night sessions start NEXT Thursday, March 10, 6-8:30!  Sat mornings start on April 9, 9:30-noon!

March 3, Saul~

Wow~  this one was a bit tricky!  I spent more time on the eyes than I usually do, because they are at an unusual slant and to make them appear glisten-y and wet took more futzing than I usually attempt-  there's something so appealing about the gaze of this kitty, looking up to heaven, that I wanted to catch.  And the background was too light before, it needed some dark to contrast the light of the kitten~  and that little crooked nose, and that fuzzy patch in front of the ears... I can smell kitten-breath!

6x6 acrylic on panel, $100 click HERE to have this supplicant as your own!

March 2, Monica's Koi!

Ah!  I spent a good deal of time painting fish, way back when... I'll have to see if I can find some of those painting...  I love goldfish and minnows and painting figures floating in space, and until Monica submitted this photo of her fish, I hadn't thought about my goldfish for a long time.  I had a great time getting these colors, the under lighting, that golden eye-  yay!
I may need to paint the other fish she sent as well.  When I decided to include other critters in this month's painting project, I hadn't thought about the fact that I do indeed like to work in series, and that doing different critters kinda breaks up that series feel... hmmm.  What a problem to have!

6x6 acrylic on panel, $100 click HERE to own a koi!

March 1, Jackson! The FIRST CAT and the OFFICIAL LIST!

Jackson is my neighbor across the street's cat, and I decided to paint him first because I love the black and white contrast of his face and those green green eyes!  I'm not sure how often Karen checks her e-mail, so if you see her would you let her know?  Hee!
And I've included the OFFICIAL LIST below!  Take a look!  It is OFFICIAL but not unflexible!  And there are still a few spaces in there!  If you've got a critter on the list, please send me a little note about them so I can include it on my blog~  I'd like to make a book of the project too!
Here's Jackson's story!

Jackson belonged to my son's girlfriend (at the time).  She was going to go to school back east and needed a foster parent for him.  We had just lost both our kitties within the last year or so.  He asked us to take Jackson for the school year.  Took him and then she decided to stay in Virginia to live and work.  Asked if we would adopt Jackson.  He was already ours and we have our Jackson and a little Tortie sister named Izzo.  One big happy family.

6x6 acrylic on panel, $100 click HERE to be the first purchase of the project!

1 "Jackson",  Karen O

2 "Fish" , Monica K

3 "Saul" ,  Laura Juhl

4 "Ocean" Anita W

5  "Tango" Annie B

6  "Greybird" Cockatiel, Bethany S

7  "Ben the Barn Cat" , Connie P

8 "Rabbits" Nanci D

9  "Daisy"Shari & Bill 

10 "Beach Iguana" Kris M & Dan

11"Miette", Michelle B

12 "Chester Anderson", Brian F

13 "Eliza Bunlittle", Mio I

14 "Gwen" the Cockatiel, Tavia P

15  "Meydi" Sandra B

16 "Moose", Nate L

17 "McKenzie" , Aimee G

18 "Mascara" Riana H

19 "George &Martha" Rosemary C

20 "Ghengus" Christi F

21 "Haffy", Philla B

22  "Conrad",  Liana K

23 "Bo" and "Mo" 

24 "Brisbane & Ayer" Gayle H

25 "Bela Lugosi" Diane A

26

27

28 "Boo", Carolyn BM' daughter!

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