Day 17 - Kate

 Today's painting is one that commemorates a beloved pet. I am always so honored to be able to create something to help remember a pet by and strive to bring personality and love to the portrait.  Kate was a beautiful tabby who had hidden pinks in her fur and blue eyes and was just a joy to paint <3  Her owner contacted me shortly after she passed away to ask if I could paint this special painting and after going through several images, she chose this view of Kate.  I loved painting this angle as it makes you feel like you are at eye level and maybe even laying on the same cushion together. <3

Kate, Oil on cradled panel, 8"x8", sold

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Day 11 of the 28 in 28 - On Call

Simply put, I love painting sleeping cats on phones. I've visited this subject before and for some reason, am not bored of it yet... a series within a series, it started with me exploring the concept of visual idioms - I painted Cat Call, Duck Tape and Rabbit Ears.. Then, the subject of a sleeping cat on a phone called me back again, and I painted another, thinking it would satisfy me.  But, not yet.  To me, there is much more to explore here. This one was my try at a black cat on a white phone. I love the challenge of painting black animals as their fur has so many hidden colors... the same can be said about white objects, particularly white shiny objects.  I was captivated by all of the reflected colors in the phone and how they interacted with the 'hidden' colors in the cat. :)  

The hardest part of the cat call series if naming them!  "On Call" may just be a temporary title until I come up with something a little more interesting.

Scroll down to see the 1st two in the series and thank you. ♥

On Call, Oil on panel, 10"x10"
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Day 24 of the 30 in 30 - The Moment Before

 Once again, the Red Balloon has made an appearance in my painting.. I didn't intend to continue the exploration of this theme, but here it is.  Another unexpected thing, I didn't expect the presence of a balloon in my paintings would create such tension. But again, there it is. 

I titled this one "The Moment Before" after I sat and just stared at the painting for awhile, trying to figure out what is going on here.. Is the bird going to pop the balloon? Is this the same bird from the last red balloon painting?  Is the cat going to jump for the bird? Are they friends? Why is the balloon tied to the cat's tail? Are they playing a game? Is the cat trying to trick the bird?  I honestly don't have the answers.  I just painted the image, but I don't know what is going to happen or how they got there. Your guess is as good as mine!  So, this painting is about the moment right before we find out... it is an image frozen in time that is so full of questions, and tense with what will be.

Moments Before, oil, 10"x10", click here to purchase

Chicken Chucks

I have painted a lot of chickens.  And I have painted quite a few pairs of Converse Allstar sneakers (I know them as Chucks...).  So I figured.. Why not put 'em together.  I like the resulting painting, although, when I first designed this one, he looked like he was dancing.  Now he looks like he is taking a bow, or, maybe saying... "What?  You lookin' at me?"

Anyway, a fun one for today to combat the strange news that gets stranger by the day.....

Chicken Chucks, oil on panel, 6"x6"
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Day 13 of my Holiday Painting Spree - "Watching"

Today is Cat painting #2.  I really enjoy painting cats because their eyes are so expressive. They seem to know about and analyze the world around us.  This cat captivated me because of it's intensely watchful expression... Is he perhaps planning his next meal?   Looking up quotes about Watching, I came across several that struck me as worth thinking about....

Watching, oil on panel, ready to hang
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Here is one, pertinent to this moment in time, again, from Einstein:

And another, which made me smile.. 

And related to this, is one of my favorites that fuels my fire

"I thought about quitting, but then I noticed who was watching" (speaking of my kids...)