Cats!

Dogs or cats?

Sorry, I’ve always loved cats, I’ve had cats since I was a child. We never had room for a dog, I don’t think my parents had the time to walk one while they were looking after all of us children.

Cats always seem aloof, but once you get one, and start to understand it they can be very loving. I used to whistle a little tune to get our cats to come home. I’d do it when they were due to be fed, or at bed time, and I suppose they understood the reason behind the whistle so they would come. So cats can be trained. I had one which would jump from one gate post to another when I tapped the post and whistled. She was very special and liked climbing up on my shoulder and having a little ride around the house or garden.

Don’t get me wrong though, I do like dogs, it’s just that when you go out to work all day it seems cruel to leave them shut in the house or tied up in a garden. At least cats can use cat flaps and enjoy independence. And I know you can get dogflaps but they look like a burglar could get in through them…

Also, thinking about cats, I think they are not as expensive to look after, although when you have multiple cats it’s not cheap. Maybe one day if we suddenly have lots of money I might get a dog.

Apologies to dog lovers. X

WIP my friends dog

To reduce my stress levels I decided to start a small watercolour of my friend Martha’s dog. I’ve been promising it for ages, but with everything that’s been going on I decided to wait until I felt slightly happier. Anyway, the floodgates finally opened today and I was able to finish two portraits. So why not make another start. It’s nice to use watercolours again. Hard to keep the colours light enough. I shall post it soon, about A5 size.

X

Old Yeller

Do you remember your favorite book from childhood?

I was about ten when I read Old Yeller written in 1956 by Fred Gipson.

I only have a memory that it was set in the southern area of America, maybe texas. There’s a boy who is helping run a farm and he takes in a stray dog which he calls old Yeller because it’s yellow coloured. I think they had adventures, a bit like Lassie. But eventually the dog was bitten by something that had rabies and was infected. The boy had to decide what to do and I can see in my mind that the dog has to be tied to a tree so it can’t bite anyone. Eventually it has to be shot. I can’t remember what happened next, but I do know it really upset me. I guess that’s why it’s stuck in my memory. I think Disney made a film of it, but I don’t remember seeing it. I do think the book cover had a yellow dog, like a labrador on it.

I enjoyed other books, Nancy Drew, The Hardy boys, and books on myths and legends, but Old Yeller really stuck.

Flying dog?

As I was finishing my charcoal drawing I saw a creature in the sky. A flying beagle type dog with a white muzzle floppy mouth and long floppy ears (alternatively it could be a loping hare). I don’t know how I managed it, but I didn’t alter it, I just chuckled! I’ll post a photo of the finished drawing later…

Dog drawing

Sketch I did of a friends dog. He’s a cross between a Husky and a Spaniel. He looks like a giant Corgi, because his legs are a little short in relationship to his body and he has a curly tail. He’s a real personality and is called Rassie or Rasputin. He’s very handsome and dark grey and white. I drew the outline when we met him on the back of an envelope then redid it and added shading at home.

Random dog

A lovely dog we saw while we were out a couple of weeks ago. It was a mixed breed but I can’t remember exactly what? A shitzu crossed with a corgi? It was small and sweet and friendly. I took a photo as I was thinking I might do a small painting including it. I’m not sure what to do in the background. Why are small fluffy dogs so cute? I think it’s the sweet eyes and nose.

Dog

Met a lady with this beautiful girl today. Its a shitzu crossed with another dog, but I’m afraid I can’t remember what that was. Such a nice natured dog, she was interested, intelligent, listened to her owner. Was friendly. Had no ‘snappiness’ even when the singer who was entertaining us had a crackling microphone which disturbed his own dog. I think she’s really pretty and asked permission to take a photo. This might turn into a painting.

Weimaraner

Well trained Weimaraner dog seen on our walk round Westport Lake. Trained as a therapy dog, it was very capable of following orders. The colour was a grey brown and its eyes were a mixture of yellow and blue.. Its owner said that as it got older the colour might become more amber. I might do a painting of it as I have a closer view of it. One thing is because of the way I took the photo its head looks a little too big because if foreshortening. It looks more in proportion on the other photo.

Willows

A short story…

A cold wind blew across the lake, finding gaps in my coat and blowing my hair around. The branches and fronds of the willow trees streamed like ribbons on a kite, lifting and waving. The ducks ruffled up their feathers against the cold. We had walked out of sunshine into shade and the temperature had dropped noticeably.

The man and his dog walked towards us. It was muzzled with a band of leather round it’s mouth, but it still pulled the man along. It was a big dog. A hound of some sort. It was difficult to see in the gloom. As we came level with them the dog jumped up. It’s paws landing on my shoulders. I was knocked over by its weight. I sat down hard in a puddle. The weight of the dog pushing against me.

The man looked alarmed. Shocked. He tugged the dog away. All he said was ‘sorry’ and walked off! I sat there freezing and wet….. What a day!