Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Cat Break


Over the last couple of days I've seen a life bird(Redhead)less than a mile from home and also heard the first singing bird of spring, a Song Sparrow singing loud as could be. I only heard him because I was driving with the car windows down during a day of unseasonably warm weather. But those stories will 'have to wait.

My wife is a huge cat lover and we have a number of them. But cats are trouble for an artist. They are so 'cute' and so even attempting to draw or paint them always takes on the huge burden of 'cuteness.' So I've always avoided them, even our own exceptionally cute cats.

But we've always had a favorite cat. He died a number of years ago. For Valentine's Day I decided to try painting a portrait of him, based on some photos. I think it does look quite a bit like him and his posture, king of the garden. For many years the garden seemed empty without him. But this brings back those sunny summers. For that reason it seemed like the perfect Valentine's Day present.

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