Bunnies

I painted some bunny portraits a year or two ago to donate to the Potter League Animal Shelter for their annual silent auction and fundraiser, and decided to paint some more this week to sell on my Etsy site.  I think I enjoy painting bunnies almost as much as I enjoy painting cats.  I love their big liquid eyes, and their soft coats.  Actually, their fur is quite tricky to paint in any kind of detail.  It has such depth of color.  I have to do several layers of paint to achieve the right affect, building up their coats bit by bit, so a small 6x6" painting, which these are, takes several hours.  I plan to do several more.

Bunny 5 - 6x6"

Bunny 6 - 6x6"

Kittypalooza

Have been working on a few projects over the winter, but my latest involves a lot of kitties.  My local veterinary practice commissioned me to do a small grouping of kitty paintings for their cat exam room.  I love animals, so it's been fantastic to paint what I love most.  Unlike dogs, cats generally have the same shape, but each one is unique, and I've learnt so much about their faces.  If possible, I've come to appreciate their beauty and individuality even more.  Here are three of the portraits.  All but two of the cats, who are resident kitties at the vet's office, are rescue cats from the Potter League, our fantastic local no-kill animal shelter, who I hope have long since been adopted into good homes.  The three shown here are Potter cats.

"Penny" - 8x8"

"Tigger" - 8x8"

"Wylee" - 8x8"

Back to Work!

I've had a hiatus from painting recently. My husband and I added a new member to the family, a 2 1/2 year old black and white kitty we've called Aggie (short for Agatha, after one of my favorite authors Agatha Christie). She's settling in now, but it took all my time and energy to see that she was comfortable and getting along with our other two kitties Frankie and George. She's such a joy though. At the Potter League, where we found her, she was a very quiet kitty, but at home she's playful and loving. She has the unusual habit of lying behind me on the pillow, wrapping her paws around my neck, and resting her head against mine, all the while purring loudly. It's adorable!

I'm keen as mustard to paint again, though. It's like riding a bicycle, but at the same time it can be hard to get back into the saddle, even after only a couple of weeks of painting abstinence. I haven't been totally inactive in the painting arena, however. This week I entered into the Juried Members' show at the Portsmouth Arts Guild and got in! Yay! Two pieces "Through the Fields" and "Around the Bend" were both accepted. The show opens this Friday, with a reception from 6-8pm, and runs until November 16th.

"Around the Bend" and "Through the Fields", both 8x8"