Jesus, the Cat, and Other Moggies

It's been a long time since my last post...almost a month...and I have no new art to show although I've been busy with art-related events such as our annual Art Fayre in Dunvegan. The exhibition looked wonderful and was well attended. There were a lot of sales. None of them mine this time. I must admit to feeling more than a bit disappointed about that. There is nothing like the affirmation of one's efforts via a nice cheque. As well as an ego boost it also helps to pay for the framing and the percentage to the gallery.

So.

On to other things.

This is Jesus. Officially he belongs to our neighbours who no doubt call him by another name but he is known as Jesus to us and several other neighbours because he's always turning up at the door, inspiring the remark,"Jesus! The cat!" And because we are all crazy enough to feed him, he keeps coming around, on the scrounge.

Bridget and Sam, our cossetted little princesses, enjoy visiting Jesus through the screen door.

They watch him eat the few cookies we allow him and don't seem to mind sharing. Here he is after a nosh, having a good wash.

This is Felix. He belongs to our friend, Monique and is very handsome and friendly. Felix came here for a 'playdate' recently. We wanted to find out whether he would get along with Sam and Bridget in case Monique needs to travel and avoid leaving him alone or at a cattery.

He arrived in his carrier and chose to remain there for awhile until the hissing from our two died down. Then he gradually and cautiously emerged.

A little catnip helped him to relax.

Bridget thought he was making a fool of himself but she remained tolerant of her new guest.

While Sam watched it all from a safe distance on George's lap.

In all, the visit went quite well. An hour later all three animals were racing around the basement and the hissing had almost stopped. We'll have to do it again, soon.



Gemini

Despite the rain and miserable weather we've been having lately I managed to snag a few days of relatively fine weather to work in the garden and found there is so MUCH  to do as we head into June. Today is Queen Victoria's birthday and unfortunately for all you working people, the weather has taken another dive. I'm going to use this gray day to write this post in celebration of our new zodiac sign, Gemini.

Well, these two don't look exactly like twins but they could represent the dual nature of people born under this sign.

I've always been fascinated by the idea of twins. There's a theory that we all begin as twins but that most of us are born singly after having eliminated our other in utero. Supposedly we singletons are the result of some inside hatchet job. Oh, the guilt!

This painting is called THE MARBLE GAME. I wonder which one wins.

Sometimes twins are brother and sister...which shoots down the earlier theory somewhat. I called this painting SPIES IN THE NIGHT. It's one of my all-time favourites.

So there you are, Gemini people, so lucky to have been born in spring. 



Old Sketch Book

I was looking through an old sketch book to see if there was anything worth sharing or even developing into something more profound and although nothing screamed at me, "Oh, yes! This is genius!" I decided some sketches are at least worth sharing. I hope you'll agree.

Gesture drawings like this are meant to prepare you to see the overall subject, to get its movement and to loosen you up. The idea is that doing a few rapid gesture drawings will prevent you from getting too detailed and tight, a common problem if you haven't been sketching for a while. Eliminate the fear factor by scribbling.

Blind contour drawing like the above one I did of my hand is a way to train your eyes and hand to work as one. You look only at the subject (hand in this case) and slowly outline its features without lifting your pencil. You can use any subject, just don't look at the paper. If it looks too perfect you haven't done it correctly.

Here's a series of quick sketches I tried out for Artist Trading Cards. It was meant to show mermaids doing yoga but I found that in order to do yoga one needs legs so I abandoned that idea and did another  series with cats in yoga poses.

This study of irises got me ready to paint a watercolour.

It's called 'In May'. And now I'd like to dedicate it to all mothers for Mothers' Day, especially to my own Mom whose middle name is Mae. She passed away a few years ago but she shared my love for flowers and all living things. And she did get to see this painting before it was sold. 

Taurus

We are well into the second sign of the zodiac and I want to dedicate this small post to my niece, Joanna, whose birthday is coming soon.

The above painting, done with oil glazes, is called WOMEN'S WORK and to me it represents the ability to undertake many tasks and to see them through. This quality is strong in people born under the sign of the bull. (I would prefer the bison as an icon but nobody asked me.)

This oil-glaze painting was done many years ago just after a disastrous year during which my husband underwent several abdominal surgeries and I was in a car accident and was sidelined by a shoulder separation. I hadn't set out to portray these events but obviously they came through anyway.

It's called A ROCK AND A HARD PLACE and I chose it for Taurus because it expresses the bull/bison's resolve to overcome difficulties. It's not a particularly pretty picture but a very strong one, I think. 



Aries

My computer has been to the hospital and had an injection of flash and java, whatever that means. These techies speak blythely about such things, not caring that some of us (me) have no idea about these terms...I don't even know what a 'cookie' is. Yet I like to blog away just for the thrill of seeing my stuff out there and connecting with the world. It's an ego thing I guess.

So let's see if it works:( I was having problems uploading images and even viewing them on other peoples' blogs.)

This post is dedicated to Aries, the first sign of the zodiac.

Aries, like the robin, is a sign of Spring.  It's a fire sign and is symbolized by the ram. I know a few Aries and they certainly fit the description. Fiery, passionate and spontaneous.

Aries are also impulsive and energetic. I would imagine that when combined with a water sign a lot of steam would be produced. So here's to all you Aries people and to new beginnings. And to my reconstituted computer.





Out of the Trunk

I'm trying this experiment and if it works you'll see my new blog post which has been a long time coming. I'm working from my husband's computer because my computer won't let me upload images and what's a blog without images?

Here's the first image ( I hope.)

So far so good.

The old trunk above (and behind Samantha) is full of odd bits of fabric and attempts to create art from them. They are wall hangings and they usually hang around for a while,then they end up in the trunk. So I'm taking them out today for an airing.

It's hanging crooked but illustrates my brief foray into faux-tapestry. Painted in acrylics on burlap it features mixed mythological figures prancing about beneath a William Morris inspired arbour. I gave it to my parents years ago thinking they would recognize themselves in it.

THE FLIGHT OF THE ANTS

In which I was trying to depict the impression of thousands of winged ants soaring into the evening sky one day in August, their glittering wings sparkling in the sun before many were devoured by skuas high above. Their little wings are coated with 'diamond dust' which is difficult to see here.

When my parents' 60th wedding anniversary came diamonds were in order. I asked family and friends to contribute a diamond-shaped  memories which I then sewed to a backing to make a 'quilt' hanging. These three pieces were done by my sister and celebrate early family road trips we enjoyed as kids. 

Here I am sitting by the completed oeuvre hanging on our fence on Vancouver Island where George & I lived during the nineties. It hung for a time in their dining room and now enjoys its retirement in the trunk. As will all the above creations because I still don't have the heart to get rid of them. Some day I will.

Blogging Problem

I would love to post a new blog but am having problems uploading images from my files. I've registered the problem with Blogger and still await a reply. Now I notice some other blogs I follow have no pictures to go with the text. This can't be an April fool's joke because it's been happening for three days now. Any of you have the same problem? What gives?