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