30 Cats in 30 Days March 2014 OFFICIAL LIST!

well, sort of, I mean it IS the Official Final List, but as the creator of said list I retain all rights to change and switch things around to my own designs...  ha mwa ha!
As it stands, my plan is to paint each cat on the morning of that day so I can post that cat before noon!  But we will see how life plays out-  there may be opportunities for people to watch me paint a cat, maybe I'll even have an Open Studio at our studio space and paint for whoever wants to come watch!  And right now the list is relatively full, with a wee bit of wiggle room as I DO like to accommodate all actual commissions so if you haven't gotten your cat in yet, you can still send me a photo!
I have gone through all submissions and have picked the ones I want to paint, and have given them dates so check below, see if your or your cat's name is on it and tell all your friends!  We'll have an Opening at Diamond's in Northeast Mpls on April 4th, 6 to 8pm!  Wahoo!  I won't have a book ready by then but they will be available soon after!

I think that's about it-  stay tuned for tomorrow's Mystery Cat!!! Ha!

MARCH 1- Mystery Cat (Kat's Pick)
2- Mabel, also known as "Flying Mavis"
3- Callie- Cat for Libby H
4- Roscoe for Michal O
5- Soh for Brad M
6- Kermit for Cindy
7- Marceaux for Carla & Co
8- T.J. for Jeremy H
9- Missy & Abby for Rex
10- Tonki for Zoe J
11- Rudy for Kelly
12- Karl for Lyn & Andrew
13- Kitty for Sarah
14- Chairman Meaow for Laura H
15- Badness for Liana
16- Sophie for Cyn
17- Finnigan for Cyn
18- Surely for Anna D
19- Maeve & Mari for Emily
20- Frankie for Kathy F
21- Aaron for Carolyn B
22- Kayleigh for Jill L
23- Yum-Yum for Ursula
24- Mystery Cat for MaryJane L
25- Dupa for John D
26- Finni for Lisa & Ben
27- Tasha for Betsi K
28- Francine for KA Shroven
29- Mystery Guest
30- Mystery Guest

Along Cedar Lake

And this will be the last landscape posting for auction!  Take a peek back through the last couple weeks for other available landscapes~  they can be had for under $50 right now, otherwise they will default to their actual value of $75!

The reason for this is CATS!!!!  And MARCH MADNESS!!  Hmm… maybe my first cat SHOULD be crazy…. or perhaps,
KRAZY!

Wow!  This one looks rather vertical, although I KNOW it is a 6x6 inch square!  I like that!

Click here to bid or buy!  This is along Cedar Lake, the pull-off for the beach is just ahead on the left~

To Lanesboro, June

Couldn't help it-  I just had to paint some green…. I've been trying to get a handle on my photo archives because I have WAY the HECK TOO MANY PHOTOS on my computer and it's making it run slowly…
Dang-  I am such a collector!  Anyway, I was looking through and reliving memories and came across some lush green roadside photos and just had to paint this one… so here is the painting for today!
And starting this Saturday, March 1, I will be painting one cat a day for the month of March!!!
Wahoo!

Nice and blurry and GREEN!!!

6x6 acrylic on panel, click HERE to bid or buy!

Cedar Lake Parkway, January

Here is the painting for today, from Cedar Lake Parkway~  I liked the light across the road and the darkness of the thick trees~
I've also been working on people again, which is SO much harder for me than animals!  Man, it is SO hard to get the personality to show through... but I'll keep trying!  And DO send me your cat pics!  I'm filling up the list!

And this one, 6x6 acrylic on panel, is available HERE for bid or purchase!  Git yerself some ART!!

From our Middle School Ski Day! Elm Creek Ski Trail

Yes, I did go skiing!  They have great gear at the Elm Creek Three Rivers Park place~  It was cold as heck but gorgeous sunny brilliant!

I love the little pop of shaggy orange-  a bush behind the tree-  love that snow too!  Wow!
6x6 acrylic on panel, click here to bid or buy!

Cedar Ave Exit Ramp

Hey!  Thanks so much for all the great comments about the "TAMARACKS" from earlier this week!  I did not know so much about them!  I think it's the word play I liked…

And here is another lovely clump of trees-  these are just off Cedar Ave as you are heading to Apple Valley and turn off on MacDouglas, I think?  As if you are heading to the MN Zoo, you know?  The light was hitting them so beautifully!  Amazing how gorgeous these little scraps of forest can be...

I just SO love playing with the sky!

6x6 acrylic on panel, bid or buy HERE!

Monday! "Windswept Cedars"

Here's today's painting!  MUCH later post than I'd like- and I kinda like the title "Windswept Tamaracks" better but I don't know if these ARE tamaracks...  how can you tell?  They are right by Cedar Lake, so hence, the name...

I DO really like the purples in here!
6x6 acrylic on panel, click to bid or buy, starting bids at $30, Buy at $65!

Painting Class from Last Week!

Sorry I am so late!  I meant to get these posted earlier!

 The chairs were student homework from last week, to paint a chair and include the shadows of the legs...

 And the other ones are all the old "one stroke per color" painting of random objects from the studio!  I think everyone did an excellent job, didn't they?~

Sunset Past SeaSalt, Lake Calhoun

And here is today's painting!  Those skies, framed by the branches, just mesmerize me…. thankfully I am skilled at one-handed photo taking out the side window.  This is just one of my many talents…
And it's always a lovely surprise to look at the photos and see how well they turned out!

Oh, that is Sea Salt to the lower right, behind the deep red stop sign…
This one is also 6x6 acrylic on panel, ready to hang, click HERE to bid or buy!

And just a mention-  this year's "30 Cats in 30 Days" Project is getting underway!  Send me your cats!  more info is forthcoming!  I just hesitate to send out too many e-mails at once, and what with our incredible anniversary this weekend at the shanties and my really fun and  exciting big Feminist show this weekend, I thought maybe my faithful readers would be feeling a bit besieged….

Down 36th To Lake Calhoun

Sorry!  I TOTALLY missed yesterday-  been feeling under the weather and a few too many "Winter Yesses" as a friend told me-  She said her daughters made her promise to stop saying YES to projects in the mid winter because January is INCREDIBLY short and Spring seems deceptively far away in December and then you get SLAMMED with all this crazy responsibility you took on when it seemed like you had all kinds of time!!!
So anyway, here is another sweet little view of Lake Calhoun, and I have had to increase my initial bidding price from $25 to $30 because I'm covering taxes and fees out of those and since so many lucky people are snagging these little jewels for so little, I hope you'll forgive the increase!
The sun was just coming over Lakewood Cemetery as Max and I headed towards the Lake on our way to school last week!  I love these brilliant illuminated mornings!

SO click HERE to bid for $30 or to BUY for $65!  6x6 acrylic on panel, ready to hang!

Up the Road From Theo Wirth

I already miss Pete Seeger-  one of the best ones~
SO this is from a photo taken from the steering wheel on my drive home, through  Theo Wirth Park around 4pm on a January afternoon~

I had fun with the trees-  hints of purple with both phlao blues that I love, blue shade AND green!

And this one is available for auction or BUY NOW!  Just click HERE!

Cedar Lake, January Morning

I've been re-reading my Collected Works of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle which I've had since high school, and just LOVING it, and then sitting up on Sunday nights to watch the new PBS version~  if you haven't seen it, you MUST!  This is a younger Holmes with a sense of humor and a cell phone…  really fun to see how it all gets retranslated into our current social world!
And part of what I love about Sherlock is his power of observation, which should be the super-power of every artist!  To know what you are drawing or painting, you need to observe it closely-  REALLY look at it and see all the details and nuances!    Even if you are observing the aftermath in a photo, like these little lake paintings I've been doing lately-  I have to take the photo as I rush by but then I can look closely at what I've captured…

I am having such fun with this simple palette, as well!  And keeping the blue separate from the yellow so I don't end up with a green sky…
SUCH fun!  You can click HERE to bid or buy!  6x6 acrylic on panel ready to hang, starts at $25, buy it for $65!

Painting Class Wed Night!

Here's a little showcase of our first night, Wed!  And what a lively bunch!

We have a couple mangos, a mug or two, christmas ornaments and a brown jug!  Well done all!

Arched Branch, Lake Calhoun

Maybe this is turning into 30 Lake Views in 30 Days here….  hmmm…..  I do love the variety of rich greys-  the luminous snow-  this is why I can live in Minnesota in the winter.  Because the snow glows at night-  it is never really dark once it snows….  In late October and early November it is the most depressing because the dark has no relief~
But NOW!  The sun is up more!

And, once again, you can click HERE to bid or buy!  6x6 acrylic on panel-

Lake Calhoun, Wednesday Afternoon, January 2014

Yes, I am really enjoying the tints and hues of winter-  so much grey, but it can be pearlescent, or moonstone, or concrete... grey has a wide range of emotions~

6x6 acrylic on panel, click HERE to buy for $65, or to BID!

Dang!  SO much fun!
Speaking of FUN,  Painting Lessons for Jan/Feb are FULL with a wait-list, and the next sessions will be April/May~  and the 30 Cats in 30 Days Project is gearing up, and so are the Art Shanties Projects!  We'll be out there for our 6th Anniversary on Groundhog's Day!  White Bear Lake this year!

Lake Calhoun, Jan 2014

It is so satisfying to paint these little buggers!  They are small, but allow me to play with shapes, edges, and color in huge ways!  I am really wanting to get to the punches of color, to trust that instinct that says YES!  THROW THAT IN THERE!!!  Kinda abstracting the reality a bit….

WAY too much fun to be legal!

And as it is Wednesday, this is up for auction!  6x6 acrylic on panel, $25 bid to start, or $65 to buy!

CLICK HERE!

Pink Sunset, Lake Calhoun

Good morning!
Here is today's auction painting, from some photos taken at random out the car window as I drove past Lake Calhoun in the evening this winter-  I am really playing with the negative space, the edges of the shapes that make up sky and tree...
SO fun!
It is available NOW when you click HERE for $65!  Or you can bid and maybe get it for $25!
Give it a shot!  You know you want to!  6x6 acrylic on panel~

Have a lovely day!

Hidden Falls, 12/13

The next auction for the week!  Wahoo!  This is from a photo taken a couple weeks ago on that last 30 degree day when everyone went out walking and we took our friends along with us (thanks Jan and Dave!) for a lovely afternoon walk down by the river at Hidden Falls park where the Barebones Halloween Show happens~  it was wonderful!

And  you can CLICK HERE to bid, starting at $25, or buy now for $65!  Wahoo~

Jeebo

So yesterday was Jeebo's final day.

She is my longest-lived cat to date, and joined my life back in  2001~ I'd gone to the pound  thinking maybe they'd have a parrot because my ex ran off with our cockatoo, and somehow found myself in the cat rooms at the Golden Valley Humane Society.  I sat on the floor and a skinny little black cat came up to me, purred, climbed up one arm, across my shoulders and down the other arm to the floor, where she then sat and looked at me.  I was surprised, to say the least, but sure I didn't want to get a cat.  So I left the room and walked around a bit more.  I couldn't get over her immediate enjoyment of my person, however, and was unable to talk myself out of adopting her so she ended up coming home that day.
Jeebo had apparently lived in a closet after having two litters before she was a year old (or something like that) and was happy in my big house.  After being neutered she grew very long fur and every year I would have her shaved in the spring, and sometimes the fur would grow back in silver.  She was a delight to have in my life, with more than seven toes on some paws, and a squeaky little meow that belied her density.  Often we would think there was a human coming down the stairs, just to realize it was only Jeebo...
We'll miss her solid weight in the bed at night, and her squeaky little meow in the morning~

Stepping From The Water

Yes, I am still loving the moose...  and there is just something about how this one is glancing back over his shoulder as he emerges from the pond, as if he is quite aware of the observer and is being somewhat shy....

This is the first auction of the week!  I figured I'd start the new year by keeping this up-  and posting at least two small paintings per week, along with a few drawings and give-aways for my loyal followers!  So go ahead and click HERE to bid, starting at $25 or you can BUY NOW if you are the first to click through for the current value of $65!

Happy New Year!