Cactus Monday revisited

It's been a long while since I've participated in Cactus Monday, so I went to my archives and pulled these ATC's out from a few years back.

Makes me want to find the time to participate again!

Happy Cactus Monday to my old friends!

Illustration Friday: Identical

Not quite identical, but close.

And so darn cute!

acrylic on canvas, sold

Illustration Friday: Tall

short chefs,

TALL hats.

for Illustration Friday: Tall

paper bag, ink, colored pencil :)

Animal Wednesday on Thursday

Last week I took care of one of our Veterinarian's kitties while she was away.  These feet belong to Toggle.

Here he is in all his cuteness. He has MAJOR anxiety issues and is on meds.

He's the main reason they get a cat sitter. Of course, I gave him extra love!

 This is Dexter. He has a stripe nearly at the end of his tail. it goes all the way around! How cool is that? Any old cat can have a white tip, but a random stripe??

NO, this is NOT a Bushbaby!!!  This is Sophia. Can you believe those eyes???

And they're always that wide open and startled looking even though she's laid back. Hilarious!

Truly, three unusual looking cats!

Happy AW on Thursday!

Illustration Friday: Teacher

Raven has always been my favorite teacher.

All knowing, ever present.

for Illustration friday: acrylic paint, colored pencil on paper bag

Fifty Nine and holding

This is the only baby picture I have of me. I don't think there are any more in the family unless it's the same image.

This was taken when I was 14 months old, October 1954.

Little chubette!

This is me today, age 59 and holding. (although I'm back to being blonde.)

I hope I take advantage of the gift for another chance to get it right.

I want to sail into 60 next year. I have a lot of work to do!

Thanks for all your birthday wishes on FB, the calls and the many gifts, but mostly thank you for your friendship.

xoxo

Love,

Lo♥

Illustration Friday: Bounce

" Springer " Spaniel!!

From the 2011 Sketchbook Project

in the Brooklyn Library's permanent collection.

Keep looking up, my friends!

(pen, ink, watercolor in a Moleskine)

xo

Lo

Animal Wednesday: Mim's Samson

Now that Mim has shown this on her blog, I wanted to post it here as well.

This is her favorite dog, Samson, who has been gone for many years now but who still has a huge place in her heart. She commissioned me to paint him from the photo below. I changed the background for artistic reasons, but I also wanted to give him that twilight glow.to bring out his soulful eyes.

It's always nerve wracking to paint a specific animal because it has to look and "feel" like them. I hope I've come close with this one!

I know all of my black animals have a lot of blue in them...I can't help it!

I like to reflect the local color in the sheen of their coats.

Thanks for the commission, Mim! ♥

Happy Animal Wednesday!

Illustration Friday: Lonely

"But Mother, what if you leave me too soon?" the seal pup asked.

"You'll see me in the moon, little one. You'll see me in the moon."

An encore piece which seemed to fit.

I hope to be making new art soon or you'll be seeing ME in the moon!

xo

Lo♥

Please go to illustrationfriday.com to see other entries!

Animal Wednesday: Sjimmie's Spirit

For those of you who know Marianne, you know she lost her beloved cat recently, Sjimmie.

He was one of those special cats that comes along once in a lifetime.

He was buried by her back fence under the two towers which were known to be his "kingdom."

I wanted to capture the essence of him, his spirit world by the fence with Buddha for protection.

I'm sure you recognize the photo of him which has been on her blog for a long time now. I always knew I wanted to paint that, but never did I know it would be to remember him this way. 

I just got off the phone with Marianne who couldn't thank me enough for this small gift.

You're very welcome my dear friend.

Happy (belated) birthday!

xoxo

Lo♥

Abundance everywhere

Even in my struggles I look around me and see abundance everywhere.

My beautiful studio window with Chinese brushes from Marianne on display.

Some of my reference art books among gifts from friends.

A closer look.

Art from friends near and far...

Above my computer :)

My beautiful $10 find last year which I fell in love with. Today she hides a glass under her skirt with flowers from my yard.

She's quite happy in my dining room.

I love surrounding myself with fresh flowers.

My sweet yard with statuary I brought back from my yard in California.

On many Sundays, I take myself for country drives.

That's my idea of church. My peace.

I walk past these things every single day and there's not one moment when I don't say 'thank you.'

"Giving thanks for abundance is sweeter than the abundance itself."   ~Rumi~

Thanks for stopping by♥

Lolo

Illustration Friday: Suspend

All dreams are within our reach.

xo

Lolo♥

acrylic on canvas, 5"x5" sold

Slowly but surely getting back to art

I've been lucky to be getting pet portrait commissions once again.

This one was a request by the owner of Grasmere. This is Sadie, her friend's dog who recently passed away. She sent me 3 photos to work from and this is how I chose to capture the essence and spirit of her. I like to do partial faces, focusing on the eyes. Sometimes the pet( asks) to be painted completely. I sit with the photos for a while and then decide. It usually all comes together.

Here's the photo I chose to work from.

What a face! I hope the recipient is moved by the painting.

Mim, guess who's on the easel now? :)

If you think I've been quiet these days it's because my wireless was down for a week. I'm back now. Stay tuned!

xo

Lo♥

Illustration Friday: Shiny

There's an old, old raven that resides in a Cypress grove high on a craggy cliff by the sea. Legend has it he used to be a man who owned a jewelry store and was fatally shot during a robbery. The thief got away with several rare Aquamarines worth a fortune. The jeweler's widow lived in poverty after his passing because they had no life insurance. The Aquamarines were what they were going to cash in for retirement, but with them stolen and the jeweler deceased there was nothing left.

Old man Raven made it his life's mission to stalk that thief and get every one of the gems back. Each year or special occasion he would deliver one of the reclaimed gems to his widow which afforded her a very comfortable life. However, the jeweler's widow would gladly give up herfortune if only to have her husband back. Something tells her he's still with her, even now. She just feels it. How fortunate to know that kind of love!

Acrylic, colored pencils, faux gem on patterned mat board . Click to enlarge. (The jewel didn't reproduce well)

Animal Wednesday on Tuesday

Sunday was a perfect day to drive out to meet my co-worker friend at her place, Serendipity Farm. She just got two baby goats who will remain tiny, Pancho and Lefty!

They follow her around as if she's their mom! Lefty is getting ready to chew on her hair again!

Smile Lefty!

Marcie was showing me how they follow her and as she took off running, Pancho ended up running into his house as Lefty knew enough to run around the outside of it. Pancho was so confused as to where they went! It was hilarious!

I'm the lucky recipient of farm fresh eggs! Marcie is always bringing me a dozen from the girls, who, by the way, lay some beauties!

Thank you girls!

These are their newest hens. I forget what they're called, but they lay blue-green eggs! I can't wait to try them.

And of course, a Rhode Island Red, our state bird!

!

We were joined by Nellie along our walks. She's a sweet barn kitty who lives a great life. She used to be feral, but with Marcie's gentle gift towards all living things, she's now a social butterfly.

This is Flyer and Dirty Bob Alan. Flyer is the chestnut one.

And this is Dirty Bob. They're both so sweet!

Marcie is trying to make Flyer keep her head up so I can take her picture.

This was the shot of the day! Bob follows Marcie around like a puppy. It's so endearing! He's literally hugging her here ♥

Finally, we went to see Marcie's retreat at the edge of her property. It's a sweet little pond teeming with life! Her husband built a small deck on the water's edge where she can do her yoga and sit in silence.

Ahhhhh. Nice.

It was a delightful visit. A nice balm for my weary soul.

Thank you Marcie! 

Happy Animal Wednesday, my friends!