UPSIDE DOWN #9/50

8x8 oil on canvas panel

Although I have not been posting, I have been painting...many more of these to come...The studio is almost finished and I've learned a lot of information I'll probably never need to know again. We've had triple digit temperatures for 24+ days now, so some minor details will have to wait for cooler weather, but move in for me might just happen later this week! I'm also posting this little painting on Some Texas Artists Like to Paint for July's theme: Upside Down.

GOLIATH & SCARLETT

8x8 sold

I don't have the opportunity to paint a lot of cats, so when my newest client approached me about painting her 6 cats, I was more than pleased! So as not to overwhelm you with all 6 paintings, I am showing you the first and the last one that I painted.

At 3 weeks of age Scarlett, with the olive green background, was an itty bitty thing living on the side of the road at a vacant general store. My client's family was passing through Kendalia, TX as a major thunderstorm was approaching when Scarlett and her brother, Paxton were discovered. Too tired and weak to even try and run away, they were rescued and are now 3 years old.

Goliath (light blue background) came to live with this family only 6 months ago. Goliath is about 12 years old and came to live at a local vet's office after his owner died and his foster mother fell and broke her hip. He is arthritic and has several medical issues, but he can rest easy because he has found a wonderful forever home.

There were many challenges I had to balance in this assignment. Because I do not have as many cats under my belt as I do dogs, I really had to concentrate on the individual and unique features of each cat. This collection will hang as one group and the client requested that each background be a different color. In addition, I had to make sure that the cats were all about the same size so one would not stand out from another. Whew, I learned a lot about cats and certainly fell in love with each of these precious babies.

Thank you for visiting and commenting on Gus' portrait. I will post and share the companion portraits to Gus one day soon. If you hear any whooping and hollering in NE Texas, it's only me celebrating because school is out and I can be a full time painter for a little while!

SUNKISSED

8x8 oil on canvas panel

Another little painting for James Parker's blog. I was a little late with my submission, but James posted it for me...thank you Mr. Parker! The photo reference for this painting was delightful to work with; however, photographing this particular painting and getting it ready for posting proved to be very problematic. I don't know why the colors are so washed out...oh, well I tried.

I've not been the best blogger lately, but hope that you know that I appreciate your visits and comments. I would like to add a slide show of more pets posing with their paintings; however, for the life of me, I cannot figure out how to do it. If you know how and don't mind sharing the "slide show secret", could you please e-mail me? :-)

MELLO YELLOW

6x9 oil on canvas

September is all about cats on James Parker's fun blog. There were several photos I wanted to try and paint, but the month has zipped by so fast, I barely got this one in on time. My husband and I have a favorite coffee that we drink called Mello Joy, it is only sold in Louisiana and comes in a bright yellow package. We buy it by the case when we visit family and for the first time in several years, we have run out and have had to substitute another not so adequate brand of coffee. As I painted this fellow, I could not help but think of how much I miss my Mello Joy coffee and I wonder if I might look just like this after that first great sip of Mello Joy! Thank you for visiting and letting me ramble; take care.

PERSIA

8x10 oil on canvas

For some reason I have become a painter of dogs and not a painter of cats, when I saw Persia posted on my friend's Facebook page a couple of months ago, I knew I just had to see if I could paint a cat. According to Jacque, Persia's favorite napping spot is on this embroidered pillow, with one little eye slightly open.

Several months ago, Jacque (an artist friend) gave me permission to use her photo, but I had to wait to paint Persia when I had time. On Wednesday I decided I could not paint another commission until I did something for me, or in this case for Jacque. I am so sad to say, Persia died just yesterday from kidney renal failure. I hate to end this blog post so abruptly and sadly, if you would like to see Jacque's beautiful graphic art, you can check out her website here.

Thank you so much for looking, reading, and listening; I appreciate the time you take to visit my blog.