Kitten and Cherries...

Yay!!! Just finished up the last one (for now). I'll be delivering these to Cradle Will Rock tomorrow...paws crossed that the owner likes them and that the customers like them even more :)!
This one is my personal favorite. Never would have guessed that the kitten one would be my top pick, right??!

Circus Elephant Painting

...and here is no. 2! I put the finishing touches on this one this morning and had hoped to get the kitten painting done, but I had to take 3 cats to the vet and went on a wild goose chase tracking down heart medicine for another one of my furkids. They keep me busy that is for sure! So, it's back to painting momentarily. Happy Tuesday!

Henry Hedgehog and Apples Painting

I have been working on a series of paintings for a local children's boutique called Cradle Will Rock that I just LOVE! The decor and clothing is whimsical, colorful, fun, retro, vintage and funky....my perfect combo! I just wish I could shrink into the adorable clothes. The owner designs and sews the majority of the clothing, and she uses a wonderful mix of patterns and prints. I wanted to complement her aesthetic and come up with a concept that would fit right into her style. So, I decided to paint backgrounds and borders that look like fabric prints with painted animal "patches" in the middle. I just finished the Henry Hedgehog and Apples painting and am now working on completing a Kitten and Cherries and a Circus Elephant.

Mixed Media Owl on canvas...

I have sculpted many owls, but this is my first owl painting. I was in the mood to mix lots of mediums, so this one was created with paint, pen, colored pencil, a bit of pastel, and paper cut outs. I like the juxtaposition of different textures, soft and hard, details and blocks of color. The sides of the canvas are an orangey red which really makes it pop. It is 18" x 24". I think it would be a whimsical addition to any bedroom or living room (it will hang in mine if it doesn't sell :)!) OR a fun accent in a child's room or nursery....owls seem to be all the rage right now. This is now available in my Etsy shop.

Stay tuned for some cat chat this week! I have a very special new foster boy. He is quite a heartbreaker.

Getting back on track....

Shoowee! Haven't visited blogland in way too long! July was a bit busy for us with a family reunion in New York and a week at the beach in North Carolina. And I have had some cat "stuff" going on too. It seems like I haven't been able to get myself back to the art table for any significant amount of time for quite awhile. But I did just finish a fun mixed media children's painting, a very gleeful purple kitty! I am taking a teeny break from sculpting to work on more paintings. I also thought I'd share a few new home decorating projects. Check 'em out below!

I had been wanting to spruce up our staircase, so I finally decided to wallpaper the fronts of the steps. I really love how it turned out.



My friend, Jennifer Higgins, makes wonderful wooden swings. I have wanted one for awhile, but we don't have any large trees in our yard. Well, why not have one in the house? I wanted a polka dotted one with a circus-y feel and an inspirational word lettered on it. "Curiouser" from Alice in Wonderland seemed like the perfect word for our house :). I LOVE it!! If you'd like to see more of Jennifer's work, check out her Etsy shop: Metamorphosis



...and I've been dying to hang a branch from the ceiling, so we did that too! I still need to add butterflies, birds and a nest. I may decorate it seasonally. It' getting curiouser and curiouser....and thank goodness my husband is tolerant and supportive of my decorating craziness!!

Sugar Skullcat painting for STJ update!

I have been wanting to create a painting in honor of the millions of cats killed in shelters every year. I didn't want it to be morbid or dark, so I decided to use the bright, colorful style of the Mexican Day of the Dead celebration. Those precious lives are lost, but they are not forgotten by me or any of the rescuers who do their best every day to change the reality of pet overpopulation and abandonment. Our hearts ache for each and every kitty, and we will continue to give them voices and fight for change.

This painting will be available tonight at midnight for the Spookytime Jingles update! It was done on a 16 x 20 gallery wrap canvas with mixed media accents...i.e. glittery cardstock leaves and hearts. 15% will be donated to spaying/neutering/vaccinating 2 feral cats through the TNR program in Lexington. Preventing unwanted births is the only way to end pet overpopulation and the deaths of so many adoptable, loving animals.

Love, Hugs and Purrs....

Happy Valentine's Day to each and every one of you! May your day be filled with romance, friendship, chocolate, hugs, purrs and LOTS of love! xoxo

I have the best mom in the world. She sent us Trader Joe's chocolates, lemon heart cookies and THIS....an itsy bitsy teeny weeny kitty painting! It's on a 2" x 2" canvas. SO cute and just purr-fect! I just had to share...

~~ xoxox Valentine SnipPet Sale! ~~

Happy almost Valentine's Day to all!!! A quick post to let you know that Valentine munchkins and this white rabbit collage painting are now 20% off (plus free shipping) in my Etsy shop! Each sweetie will arrive in a festive, beribboned bag with a SnipPet bookmark. It's the perfect little gift for that special someone!

I'll be posting some new artwork this weekend....i have been having a blast with my new creations....I can hardly pull myself away from my desk :).

HAPPY FRIDAY!!!

SnipPet Giveaway to Celebrate YOU!

When i woke up this morning and checked my blogger dashboard, I had hit 100 followers!!! WOWEE! I can't quite express how much my blog friends mean to me. You guys keep me motivated, encouraged, inspired and feeling connected. So many of you have lifted me up when i have been feeling down...especially when it comes to disheartening kitty situations. Your kind, supportive words often restore my hope and faith in the goodness of humanity. THANK YOU for being there! And your enthusiasm and special comments about my artwork fills me with pure glee :). Soooooo, it seems like it is the perfect day for a big giveaway to honor you!

In order to have a chance to win, please leave a comment on this post and tell me about a special pet (past or present). I love hearing about other people's furry or feathery or scaly friends :)!

There will be two prizes...my three ducks in a row painting and an itty bitty circus kitty! I will be plucking the winners' names out of the hat on Mother's Day night, so make sure you sign up by 10 pm on Sunday!

Sneak peeks and such!

Happy sunny and bright Wednesday to all my art and animal loving peeps!

Here are some new WIPs as well as some of the ones i posted before...the chick on the sheep has been a challenge. I have never sculpted an animal on all fours!! They are always stanging upright like humans. Go figure! The piece in front is going to be the party chick train!! I think it will have a patriotic theme and the chicks will be holding mini flags. The frog holding the pumpkin will be on the next SpookyTime Jingles update.





Here is a 6 x 8 gallery wrap canvas painting of my catfish sculpture. A fun project to do while the clay dries....



I just took a break out on our back patio with Missy, one of our feral cat tenants. Well, as you can see, she's not so feral anymore....i can pet her and rub her tummy any time :). I force her to let me pick her up. She squirms and rolls that round body around, but i know she really loves it. Tee hee. Isn't she beautiful?

I made this mosaic table a few years ago at a class at the John Campbell Folk School in Brasstown NC (a fabulous place...check out their site!). We learned how to make ceramic tiles and sculpted pieces out of clay, fired them and then incorporated our handmade pieces into mosaics. I etched one of my favorite quotes into the center piece. "I expect to pass through this world but once. Any good, therefore, that i can do, or any kindness that I can show to any fellow creature, let me do it now." One of the cats is usually sitting smack dab in the middle of this table, so I thought i would get a photo in while i had a chance.

New paintings and my first blog award! Woohoo!

I just finished up two more fun little collage paintings. Like the Tweedle frog piece in my last post, these were done with original illustrations that i created from my animal dolls. I am really enjoying this series....i like the juxtaposition of the "tightness" of my illustrations with a more free form, washy style of painting. Both creations are ready to buy on etsy.





And now for fun and exciting news...I received the Renee blog award from a very special blogger, Just Me Jill! I can't believe it! I am very honored and this was a super nice and encouraging way to end the week. Please visit Jill's blog. She does absolutely precious paintings....all you cat ladies and gents will especially enjoy them!


So, in the tradition of blog awards, i must pass this one along to some of my fellow blog friends. There is NO way that i can pick one, so here are 4 bloggers that i LOVE to check in with. I know you will enjoy them too!

~Chicken Lips: paperclay creations full of sass and style!
~Noodle and Lou: art that overflows with heart!
~Alley Cat Rescue: a fellow TNRing cat lady!
~My Pink Turtle: pure delight and magic!

I PROMISE that this weekend will be filled with CAT CHAT! I am getting ready to head over to the location where we TNRed last weekend to get some good pics. And I will be going to an apartment complex tonight for another cat adventure.

Leave it to me to do things a bit backward....

When I create my paperclay animals, i never do preliminary sketches....i really don't plan much at all. They just sort of evolve as I go. Well, years ago, i decided to do drawings of my completed animal dolls and ended up compiling a children's storybook with them. Soooo, I decided to revisit that concept yesterday. I did a little colored pencil and ink illustration of my Tweedledum sculpture. I wasn't quite sure what to do with it, so I pulled out some small canvases and began playing with the idea of a collage painting. After some more drawing and cutting and pasting and painting and varnishing, this is what appeared! The process may be a bit backward, but there aren't any rules in how art is created, right? I was having a terrible day up to this point, so i had to add some verbage to the painting to remind me to just SMILE!!! This painting is available for purchase in my etsy shop for a very affordable price.



Here is something else that makes me smile no matter what! My sweet pea, Rosie...aka the Oozie Buddha. Love her!!!! Look at that body! Hilarious.



I had a very successful cat trapping adventure on Sunday night that i have been dying to share with you, but i forgot to take photos so i am waiting to post until i get some good pics. Stay tuned.

Rosie Buddha Kitty

This is my sweet Rosie and the painting that she inspired. Rosie was living in one of our feral colonies in Atlanta. We always suspected that she was tame, and we finally got around to trapping her one hot August day. Well, she meowed and meowed (most ferals are totally silent in their traps) and we knew that she needed to come off the street. I felt so awful because she had been out there for many months and always sat alone up on an air conditioning unit. I immediately felt a strong bond to her, so we decided that rather than find a home for her like the rest of our rescues that she needed to stay with us forever :). I cannot express how much i love this crazy girl!! She is the funniest, quirkiest kitty...this buddha baby has absolutely stolen my heart. All i can say is, what idiot decided to abandon such a special cat???!! Well, i feel that way about abandoning ANY cat....
Rosie often sits in this "Buddha" position, so i decided that i had to illustrate it in a painting. Hope you like it!

SnipPet paintings on sale in my Etsy shop!

I just put 3 of my SnipPet painting on sale....50% off!!! Pounce on them now :)!
www.thesnippets.etsy.com