Almost famous & a costume contest

Check out the new photos for my sidebar. Maisy, Ralphie & Ron Burgundy will be famous. I think I might dress them up for holidays, since I had so much fun dressing up Oliver. I might dress up the photos, not the actual pets.

I shudder at the thought of trying to coax (wrestle) Ralphie, who is approximately 20 pounds of teeth & claws, into an actual costume. Let’s be real here- he knows he is in charge. I can’t tell you just how unsettling it is to wake up to a brand new day & find yourself nose to nose with a cat that size; a cat who is somehow silently communicating his willingness to cut you if you don’t open a can of Friskies pronto.

Maisy has actually worn a costume or two but she didn’t wear them well. The last time I bought her a costume she was a pirate (made of stone, apparently) for approximately 30 seconds. She didn’t move a muscle until I took the costume off & then she left the room in a huff. She was also a pumpkin, for the amount of time it took to take a photo & then it was over. At that point I promised her to never embarrass her like that again & I haven’t.

Ron Burgundy is a mystery… as is often the case with cats. There was one unfortunate incident with a little Velcro kitty bow tie, which somehow caused him to have invisible springs in his feet, causing him to spontaneously leap straight up repeatedly in a really alarming, gravity-defying sort of way. He chilled out as soon as I matched the rhythm of his leaping well enough to remove the tie, but he immediately took it from me & left the room with it hanging from his mouth. I’m not sure what happened next- all I know is that he went up the stairs with the bow tie & came down without it. We haven’t seen it since.

CONTEST:
Any suggestions for Halloween costumes for the sidebar photos? If you come up with the best idea, I'll also dress up a photo or your pet & showcase it on my blog sidebar & the Meow Bark Art Facebook page. Please leave your costume ideas in a comment on the Facebook page. Ask your friends to "like" your comment to vote for your idea.

A totally done 'to do'

Remember my ‘to do’ list from the last few weeks? (Weekly updates here & here) It’s done. You heard me… put down the tomatoes & back away slowly so no one gets hurt.

The last coat of sealer was actually applied to the last commissioned art this morning before I left for work. That’s right, I set my alarm 15 minutes earlier so I could finish it & mark it off my list. That’s the power of a public ‘to do’ list. I really understand why experts say changes you want to make, things you want to accomplish, etc. are more likely to be accomplished if you tell people you want it.

The Ralph & Ron prints are edited & will be listed on Etsy as soon as the prints arrive & I can photograph them in sample frames. I can’t wait to see them in “real life” as opposed to on the screen of the iPad during the editing process.

Speaking of “real life”, I clearly don’t spend much time in mine- how funny is it that I actually convinced myself to accomplish a list of things to avoid being pelted with tomatoes?

Doodles: Ralphie joins the circus

If Ralphie decided to run away & join the circus, he would be a fantastic 'strong man', the guy the carnival barker boasts can pull a freight train with his teeth. I think he would be great if for no other reason than his girth. He's definitely built for it. Not that we have to worry with Ralph testing my theory- he prefers to stay close to the steady stream of canned cat food he gets at home... so close in fact, that he loiters on the counter by his bowl & if you wander in the kitchen, he reaches down & pats the front of the cat food cabinet with his big paw. "Hey, you with the opposable thumbs... could you be a dear & top off my bowl?"

2 thunder chickens & a character from 'Forrest Gump'

Wind damage (at my office) from the storm

During a late night storm last week, the personality of each of our pets became very obvious…

I was awakened around 2:00 a.m., although I’m still unclear what exactly awakened me; the sound of the hail hitting my bedroom window, or the face-melting heat from Maisy’s breath. Apparently the safest place for a ten-year-old rescue dog during a storm is on my pillow- never mind the fact that it is already occupied by my head. Maisy is the “needy” one.

Ralphie, the 20 pound cat was pacing by the bed. Once he realized someone with opposable thumbs capable of opening a can of cat food was awake, he decided 2:00 a.m. was as good a time as any to have breakfast. Also a thunder chicken & fearful of storms, he seemed to think a little food in his belly might calm his nerves. (Twice in the last week I have been startled into consciousness by the indescribable feeling of a large cat gnawing on my elbow as my arm hung off the side of the bed.) Ralphie is the “hungry” one.

And where, might you ask was Ron Burgundy, the youngest & smallest of the three?

He was downstairs, all by himself- front paws on the window sill, tiny nose against the glass, screaming at the storm. Ron Burgundy isn’t afraid of anything. Our very own little Lieutenant Dan in the crow’s nest, a la Forrest Gump…

“YOU CALL THIS A STORM?!?!?!?”

36 things to do before I'm 37 list: one down, 35 to go

A yorkie & a carnival

Are you disappointed that the yorkie isn’t AT the carnival? Sorry if I misled you. This pet portrait is a cute little lady named Katie, and I still maintain that her hair is probably brushed more often than mine. I met the person she owns at a bakery to drop off the art & she liked it enough she sent an email later telling me how much she enjoyed the painting. I LOVE it when that happens!

View from the top of the ferris wheel on the Santa Monica Pier... or the carnival in my head. You decide.

On another subject, I have had a carnival in my head the last few days… we are leaving Saturday morning for California & we found out on Tuesday that the new flooring would be installed on Thursday. 48 hours before the trip. Everything would have to be moved off the floor upstairs. I momentarily forgot what the inside of my studio & my closet looked like and was under the misguided notion that this wouldn’t be a problem.

I learned a few things about myself & the pets this week:

1. My ability to cram large quantities of things in small spaces may not be the positive attribute I originally thought. Maybe it should even be considered a character flaw.

2. I have too many shoes & too many books.

3. It scares sleeping cats downstairs when you get tired & start flinging items over the rail.

4. Ralphie, the 25 pound cat can somehow make like Houdini & climb his chubby butt into the lining underneath the couch. I was so amazed by this feat that I kept peering under the couch, where the liner was straining to manage his girth. Even now I shake my head in astonishment as I type. Astounding.

You thought I was joking about his size, didn't you?

5. Ron Burgundy, the 10 pound cat is capable of moving a pet carrier across the floor from the inside, by throwing his weight against the door in an effort to escape.

Clearly exhausted after his failed escape attempt from the pet carrier...

6. Maisy, my dog does not care what happens as long as she has a chew bone & about 5 feet of personal space in any direction. Notice I didn't include a photo of Maisy with her bone. I don't like to be photographed when I'm eating either.

It has been an eventful week. I’m glad it’s almost over. California, here I come!

Look-a-like cats and one-of-a-kind dogs

This weekend I finished up a couple of paintings… Cissy (grey cat with lime background) and Chip (white and tabby cat with eggplant background) are finished. I’m really close to finishing 4 others:

Sandy is a cute little one-of-a-kind dog with a blue background. One-of-a-kind is my term for “mixed breed or mutt… because they ARE one of a kind!

Shelby is also a rescue… Border Collie? That background is tangerine. Was I hungry when I picked these background colors, or what?

Sadie is the Springer Spaniel with a green background.

The larger painting hiding in the back is actually a gift for Arkansas State Representative Kathy Webb, who is a huge pet rescue advocate. That’s Chester in the pet portrait.

Look at this… I’m still pretty amazed by it… this is a photo of Cissy, one of the pet portraits I just finished.

Now look at this photo- this is our cat, Ralphie.

I don’t talk about Ralphie much on the blog, because there usually isn’t much to say… not too many interesting stories come from a cat that makes a concerted effort to burn as few calories as possible each day. He will literally leave the kitchen after eating & just hang out by the door to the litter closet until he has some business to take care of, since it is located between his food bowl & his favorite chair.

Anyway, can you believe how much Cissy & Ralphie resemble each other? Other than the little spot on her chin, she just looks a little more alert that he does… which must burn more calories than Ralphie is willing to expend.

Here’s the finished portrait of Cissy.

Ralphie’s art is on the website.