New USK Stoke challenge day three.

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Try drawing a speedy cat, and include the background. Our challenge today was to draw something we love. In my case its one of our cats. She likes balancing with her front paws on the airer I use for washing, and her back paws on the cat tree. The result is a bit wibbly-wobbly.

I haven’t done an exact portrait, but that’s because she keeps moving, unless she’s curled up in a tight ball. Her brother is a bit quiet at the moment. He’s been enjoying sleeping on the windowledge upstairs in the sun.

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Angel cat

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“Remember Felix?” she said.

“Yes, he was a good cat”, he said.

They sat quietly and remembered their adventurous cat.

“Remember that Saturday, when he came through the cat flap with a sirloin steak?” he asked.

“yes” she replied “I had to take it off him!”

“And a week later he came in with half a chicken?” “yes, I think it was from the neighbours?, I couldn’t tell them, and I think they blamed their own cat!”

“I still miss him, he was cheeky”.

They looked at each other.

“I bet he’s in heaven”, he said.

“You don’t believe in that stuff do you?” she said.

“bet he wangled his way in, and there’s a big ginger cat up their sporting a pair of wings?”

“maybe” she smiled.

Two tier cats

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Two cats are taking over the kitchen. The boy is up on the cupboard, while the girl races towards me as soon as I get my phone to take their pictures. I just managed to snap this before she got to me.

I want to get out later on and try and get a photo of the cherry blossom in the garden. It’s just starting to burst, but the forecast is for the weather to get cold again in a couple of days so  I hope the blossom stays safely furled till after the weather improves again.

Anyway the cat wants a love, so better go now. X

Garden pictures

Oh its coming on…. I’ve been cutting back a few bushes and tidying up. The summer house is full of junk so it needs clearing out. I’m keen to go out there and paint. The weather has been lovely, we’ve not really had any April showers yet. I guess they will be in the way.

Oh I ache from trying to cut back overgrown buddlias and ivy climbing up the cherry trees. When the cherry blossom is out I will try and share photos.

By the way the cat is Woody, he’s the outside cat we look after. He’s really enjoying lying in the sun now the weather has improved. But we have tomato plants, so I’m scared he will squash them!

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Finding the sun…

That’s what my cat does. He lies in the sun and keeps himself warm, and hides his head under his paw (an idea from the poem about a robin). Apparently cats sleep about 16 hours a day, but usually somewhere quiet where I can’t easily find them. But this morning, there he was in a Ray of bright sunshine. I had to reduce the exposure because it was so bright I was losing details.

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Feathered or Furred

#uskstoke challenge. Today’s was to draw something furry or feathered. My cats were my subject. I used a 5b pencil on cartridge paper in a Daler Rowney, soft white, A4 sketchbook. One cat was on the cat tree which has several trays to sleep on. The other moggie was on the pile of washing that needs folding up. I’m going to do it when he gets off! He’s been asleep there most of the day.

So yeah, I could have done the birds outside. But apart from the odd wood pigeon, they don’t stay still long enough to draw.

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Playing

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Grab a stylus and doodle your cat. I used ArtRage oils to draw this. I didn’t have enough memory on my phone so I deleted it, but I’ve uploaded it onto another device. So maybe I can get on and do a few more digital drawings.

Lockdown, I hope it means I will be doing more art, if I can get my mojo back.

Does being shut for the duration mean you’ve lost yours too or are you being brilliantly creative?

Stay indoors, stay safe…. X

Love

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She likes climbing up on the airer to have a love, she rubs her cheek against my hand, pushing her nose into my palm. The tower of trays in the background is where she sleeps, curled up above the warm radiator.

Paws on the towel, staring at me. Looking for a cuddle, or sometimes her cat biscuits. She’s a lively cat. She chases toys like a professional footballer. Rolling a tennis ball along with one small front paw. Goal! She pushes it under the sideboard. I act as goalie and fish it back out again.

A graceful gracious cat…

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Sketch idea

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I did the first drawing on Monday, a simple cat sketch, I  coloured it with felt tip pens, but the ink bled through the paper, so I got a reversed image on the back of the page.

I decided to experiment and added some bright colours with pencil crayons . Then I got a black ink pen and outlined the gradations of colours in the drawing. Made it interesting…. Its something I’ve done before in paintings, I enjoyed doing it. X