Get Ready For Summer with a Beach Tote Giveaway!

Meet Tangerine the cat, a fanciful feline for those of you who are devoted to or enslaved by a cat who is red, orange, ginger, marmalade or a bit rusty!

In celebration of my newest design AND the imminent return of summer here in the Northern Hemisphere, Tangerine invites you to take part in our June Giveaway by reviewing the 3 Rs.

Some may still cling to the notion that the 3 Rs refer to Reading, 'Riting. and 'Rithmetic, but apparently they haven't heard the news: SCHOOL IS OUT!

We're talking about the OTHER 3 Rs: Reduce, Re-use, and Recycle, in that order. In other words, Reduce your waste first (ie, avoid over-packaged products, compost food waste, etc ); Re-use an item instead of opting for disposable anything (ie use lidded glass containers to store leftovers instead of plastic throw-away containers); and Recycle (ie, when something does wear out, recycle every part of it that's possible).

TO ENTER THE GIVEAWAY, please leave YOUR favorite way to Reduce, Re-use, or Recycle in the comments section at the end of this post. The best tips will be shared in future posts. Giveaway ends on the summer solstice, Monday, June 21 at 8 p.m. PST. At that time, one name will be drawn at random and the winner will receive his/her choice of ONE of the Susan Faye Beach Bags pictured below ($22.99 value), now available in my Cafepress Shop online.



These cotton beach totes are a good way to practice the 3 Rs. By re-using them for toting and shopping, you reduce the petroleum products needed to make plastic bags and reduce the amount of plastic bag bits ending up in our soil and our oceans. You can use them to carry your bottles to the recycle center!

One entry per household please. Make sure that I have a way to contact you in case you are the lucky winner, such as a link to your blog or e-mail address included in the comment.










Also, if you encounter trouble with the Comments feature, please send your entry to my e-mail --you'll find a link under my Profile.

Thanks for participating!

Shades of Gray

Does your cat fall somewhere in the monochromatic spectrum that runs between black and white?

Purebred cats of the gray persuasion are referred to as "blue" or "silver". But how about pewter, smoky, ashen, slate, charcoal, platinum, cinereous? How do you describe YOUR great gray cats?

One thing is clear: a word you should never, EVER use to describe a gray cat is mousy!












My auctions on Ebay this week feature ACEO artwork of gray cats of every shade. Each one of these original mini watercolor paintings was a part of the 365 Cat Ladiesseries featured in this blog during 2009. Here is your chance to collect original artwork without breaking the bank, plus you will own a little piece of 365 Cat Lady history! Auctions end Sunday afternoon, May 23.

Place your bid today at:

http://myworld.ebay.com/whimsysu

Still Life With Bicolor Cat - Step One

There is great excitement in the studio this week as I've started work on a new watercolor painting. Thanks to the input of readers last month, this pose of artist model Buttonwillow was chosen for the composition:

First I sketched out the basic composition on a separate piece of paper. I don't want to sketch directly on the (expensive) watercolor paper because when I sketch, there will be lots of erasing and re-working involved, and that will ruin the surface of the watercolor paper.

Something that I love about the creative process is what we call "artistic license". I decided simplify the table and to extend it horizontally to give the composition a strong but uncomplicated foundation at the bottom. I also removed one of the tulips so that more of the painting in back would show, and I extended Buttonwillow's tail by un-curling it a bit.

With the help of my studio assistant, I traced the composition onto tracing paper After re-tracing the lines on the BACK of the tracing paper, I flipped it right side up on top of the watercolor paper, and went over the lines one more time to transfer the image onto the watercolor paper beneath.

I dampened the back of the watercolor paper, then taped it to my drawing board. I dampened the front of the paper, then set it aside to dry. This is called "stretching" -- the paper swells up slightly, then shrinks as it dries, making the paper nice and taut and less likely to warp or buckle. It also "primes" the paper and makes it more receptive to water-based paints and will absorb the paint more evenly...


NEXT... the underpainting! Stay tuned...

Today is World Oceans Day!

World Oceans Day was officially declared by the United Nations in 2008, to be observed on June 8th of each year. This year's theme is "Oceans of Life".

Discover some surprising reasons we're all connected to the oceans by visiting this interactive Nature Conservancy link. Then leave your own message of hope and see what others have to say here: Messages of Hope.

Your message can be anything, but here are some suggestions from the Nature Conservancy to help get you started: How are you connected to the sea? What do you hope for the future of our oceans? Why do you think it is important to conserve our coasts and waters? What about the ocean inspired you to begin living a greener life?"

To find World Oceans Dayevents in your area, click visit this link: THE OCEAN PROJECT

Thanks for visiting!

Whisker Walk is Today and it's FREE!

SUNDAY, JUNE 6: If you are in the New England area today, be sure to visit Cat Lady Rose and the Angelcat Haven booth at the Whisker Walk event! Rose will be selling tickets for a chance to win a Susan Faye custom portrait of you and your pet, with proceeds benefiting Angelcat Haven!

Whisker Walk is a FREE, fun day for families and their dogs PLUS a dog walk-a-thon fundraiser to benefit animal shelters and rescue groups throughout New England. Held at the Lancaster Fairground (Home of the Bolton Fair) there are 50+ acres for pet owners and animal lovers to walk, visit vendors, see, do and buy PLUS they can lend a paw for the animals shelters and pet rescues they love and support! Even if you can't attend, please consider supporting Rose's Angelcat Haven with a donation or providing a foster home for a cat.

Cat Lady Spotlight: Be Inspired! [Part II]

Cat Lady Rose is the co-founder of Angelcat Haven in Massachusetts. Here is a look at the second of two very creative and inspiring projects that Rose and her husband undertook--hopefully they will inspire you to create some "Kitty Cities" of your own, whether for your own kitty or a whole shelter-full! She tells about the project in her own words: [all photos copyright Rose Gates/Angelcat Haven. Please ask permission if you would like to reproduce or use them in any form]


"Kitty City number two was created for Angelcat Haven Feline Rescue in Plainville, Massachusetts ...and has an undersea theme."

"Initially, it was one big room with 5 windows, but it was divided into two rooms so that there could be a quarantine area for the Leukemia-positive cats. We began by painting all the walls beige and the trim a darker beige."

"Then, two accent walls were painted aqua green. Because it's in a basement, there are 4 different levels to the floor."

"The two lower levels are cement which were painted a dark sand color. The two raised levels are wood, so they were fitted with linoleum that had a sand colored pebble pattern. The climbing shelves are all sea creatures: JAWS, Sea turtle, purple Octopus, Red Crab, Pink Jellyfish, Manatee, Dolphin and Clown fish."

"For both Kitty City constructions, my husband Ron cut pieces of plywood into 2 shapes from templates I drew on cardboard. All of the Kitty City shelf designs were based on a semi circle and a rectangle."

"He affixed them to the walls with angled metal shelf brackets from the hardware store in the location and height I specified. Then, I got to work painting the design on and around the shelf, so that the drawing was integrated with the shelf."


"If anyone would like to build one, and has any questions, I'd be happy to tell them how to do it."


"Angelcat Haven is a rescue group that Angela Frankudakis, some other friends and I formed about four years ago. As volunteers, we saw many cats being turned away from the already overcrowded city-run shelters, and decided there was a need for an additional rescue focusing on cats only. Angelcat Haven is a foster-based rescue, meaning the rescued cats live in foster homes with our volunteers until they are adopted.

Angela, the President of Angelcat Haven often takes in the overflow when we do not have foster homes available. We call her home "The Haven". The rescued cats at The Haven are allowed to free-roam indoors and are only caged if they are ill, recuperating from surgery, moms with kittens, or do not get along with other cats."

Thanks for visiting!

Professional Cats: Spotlight on Terrific Tabby Chester

Speaking of terrific tabbies, today we salute the working cats of the world, in particular, the handsome tuxedo tabby cat Chester.

In recent weeks we have explored cat professions such as library cat, beekeeper, fireplace tester, studio assistant and artist model. But here is a real-life cat profession you've probably never heard of:

Greyhound cat tester.

That's right. Chester of Tucson, Arizona (pictured above), was a professional cat tester for the Arizona Greyhound Rescue during his later years in life. Chester's Cat Lady Jean, a volunteer at the Greyhound Rescue explains:

"He's famous with Arizona Greyhound Rescue because for almost four years he did 'cat testing', which is exposing a newly-rescued muzzled greyhound to a free-roaming cat [under very controlled circumstances]. Some greyhounds have a high prey drive and do not tolerate cats or small dogs, so it's good to get an initial feel. Chester was one of AGR's favorite volunteers. He really did his job well." Thanks to Chester's bravery and his tolerance for greyhounds (having co-habitated with 4 different ones), many rescued greyhounds were able to move on to loving forever homes.

Cat Lady Jean is an equal-opportunity animal lover and currently shares her home with four cats and four dogs, one of which is a rescued greyhound (her fourth "greyt"). She has been a volunteer at the Arizona Greyhound Rescue for eight years.

To find out more about Chester's interesting job, read the last interview he gave before he retired to the great cactus patch in the sky this past autumn: Chester's Interview

Thanks for visiting!