New paintings and regular art updates.
When I attempt to take a photo of my cat, nine times out of ten they move (like this picture). They are sweet cats and I’d call them photogenic, but that doesn’t mean I can get a clear image of them. They don’t like to pose!
Case in point, my cat was staring out of the window and I thought I would grab an image but no, he decided he wanted to be with me and jumped down. All I got was half his body and his quirky tail! Missed him again!
What is good about having a pet?
When I’m feeling down and lonely
The cat will come to me
He jumps up for a little love
While sitting on my knee
He gives comfort when I am low
Dispels my sadness you see
That little cat who is my pet
Is my truest company.
One of my cats. It’s good to have something as a companion when you find yourself on your own. The fact you have something to look after holds you together. You can’t easily give in to sadness when creatures rely on you. Life has a way of kicking your ankles and letting you know you still have responsibilities. Thankfully it’s also good to have friends to help out. They know who they are and how much support they have given me (buying catfood and shopping while I’ve had covid).
It’s going to be a long journey, but having my companion animals will help.
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
What animals make the best/worst pets?
First of all, best or worst is a hard question. Basically it will depend on the owner and their capabilities.
Live in a big house with a big garden? The best pet might be a dog or a cat, or even a horse if you have fields for it to roam in. Live in a small flat or a single room apartment? Then your best pet might be a fish or a small snake.
Then it depends on whether you can afford to pay for their food, vets bills or vet insurance. Can you get a pet sitter if you go away on holiday? Someone who is able to come in and check everything is OK? You might have to pay for kennels.
Then you need to think about the pets needs, can it cope with being isolated if its on its own? Does it bark or make loud noises, are you able to exercise it or clean up after it? Will it shed pet hairs, does it eat live food? Are you allergic to it? What is its lifespan? Some small mammals only live a few years, others, like parrots or tortoises might out live you!
The number of pluses and minuses you need to weigh up are important. Don’t get something you won’t want to care for if it gets too big, complicated, old or ill.
Think before you buy (or adopt) it’s your responsibility at the end of the day!
Relaxed Cat, digital drawing on ArtRage. Hard to do he kept moving x.
I feel like it could have been drawn in ink or watercolour, and I tried to keep it monochrome but a touch of warmth crept in. I was worried I’d made him look like a sheep dog!
Anyway this outside cat is now so settled he eats food out of my hubby’s hand! He sits between us on the arms of our armchairs perched on a cushion.
He’s almost done, looks like a Teddy bear so it needs some more attention.
I am struggling with the fur, trying to soften it, it looks too spiky at the moment. I need to get the ears right and his belly sorted out. The photo I’m working from has him in a dogs rain cover or coat, but that is covering areas I need to paint. Three hours of work and I feel like I’m only shuffling forwards. But I’ll get there.
Grass painted and coat underpainted, need to work on the colour and details now. His coat is a bit greyer and I want to get more of the fine fur details.
I’ve just started a dog painting and I’m blocking in the colours. As you can see he’s a terrier. I think he looks a bit like a Teddy bear at the moment. Work in progress, acrylic on canvas. x
Since the middle of winter our outdoor cat has come in every day, and most nights he sleeps at least a couple of hours on the bed. He’s a big cat, and waking up with him lying on your chest is a bit startling. Then he reaches out one or both front paws in a gesture of trust. He’s not very keen on being touched. His nose has been scratched by other cats several times (no real animosity between him and my other two cats though). But he’s well fed now and you can see he’s greatful… And he’s like skippy the Bush kangaroo (a reference to a 1960’s kids TV programme…) he points at things. He looks at his bowl when he wants food, the door if he wants to be let out, but more than that, his body language communicates, and if I tap somewhere on the bed with my hand he will go there… And being touched by his paw on my hand is so sweet.
Mallaband-Brown