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This is something I'm working on that actually doesn't have anything at all to do with Cinco de Mayo, but its such a good fit I had to share.

Its based on my late kitty, Wendell, who loved to eat. He was black and white, and had a bobbed tail, so I'm working out how to show his pattern just right, and am also wondering if the lack of a tail (in some views) makes it hard to tell that he IS a cat. Like in this one, where his ears are hidden, I hope there's enough there to make it obvious he's a kitty. (I just realized I forgot to draw in his whiskers.)

This was my first idea sketch for this.




Something I always do is make a tight front, back and side view of a character, especially if its sort of complicated. It helps to keep proportions right when doing complicated views or perspective.


So my little Wendelito has some work to be done on him, but right now he's going to enjoy a nice plate of fish tacos and some tortillas and guacamole.

Adios!

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I had to come back sometime, so figured today was as good a day as any.

Kind of in limbo on the Gingerbread book; the drawings are done, just waiting for the green light on the finishes. The drawings were well received, so I'm in that 'hurry up and wait' period. Kinda frustrating, but this is not the place to kvetch about that...

Made some changes to the blog, and also my website. With the links, mostly.
Here, I took off the blogroll thingie; as much as I loved it, it was dragging the loading time down, and I also couldn't put as many people as I wanted to. So now I have a list of websites for illustrators and colored pencil people, and blogs for people doing daily painting and crafty things. Half of me wants to take all of it off altogether, because there's no way way to put everyone on there. Someone will always be left out, due to some oversight or other. So if you see a link to yourself, then see it disappear one day, please don't be offended. Its nothing personal. I just can't figure out how to make everyone happy, so rather, I'll make everyone UNhappy. That seems more fair somehow. ha ha

On my website I took off all the links to personal sites altogether! Just wiped them clean. For the same reasons. So if you have a link to me on your site or blog, and I've deleted you, please feel free to delete me in return, I will completely understand!



On a sad note ~ I had to let my little Wendell go a couple of weeks ago. His bladder was finally giving out altogether, and to spare him the inevitable bad end, I let him go peacefully. It was a very sad day. Very sad. He was the most difficult kitty I've ever had; physically, his personality, all of it. But of course I loved him more than I can say. He will be greatly missed.

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Wow, the difference a day makes!
Wendell, who I was so worried about in the last post, is on meds for an infection, and is not leaving us like I thought he might be. He just teeters precariously sometimes, and I get gloom and doomy. Today the sun is shining and the birdies are singing and there is hope, so YAY. Sorry I hit the panic button ~ and thanks for all the well wishes.


Other stuff~
I'm working on some new art that is REALLY different than my usual style. Can't say much about what its for, but I'm kind of excited about it. These are super duper fast "first thought" rough sketches of a couple of ideas.



I've been doing really tight, and/or realistically rendered or laborious time consuming art for so long, I've almost forgotten how to do "simple"! Its like those muscles have atrophied or something. Trying to get back in shape!


And here's something that has absolutely nothing to do with anything, but it was a funny thought: Today I was pulling the car into traffic; busy traffic, coming and going, and I was looking both ways, waiting, waiting, until just the right moment to pull into the flow ~ and it hit me that it was exactly the same as trying to time the right moment to jump in when you're doing Double Dutch jumprope! Remember that? Those two ropes would be going around and around, and you'd be standing there, kind of swaying in rhythmn to them, trying to gauge the exact right moment to JUMP IN. If you did it wrong you got tangled and the ropes stopped and it had to be started up all over again. But if you hit it just right, it was so cool.

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I just realized I've been dating everything wrong all week. Guess I'm in my own time zone.

Today's model is Wendell. I just love the way he turns his little face up when he naps.



The top bit on this one is an upside down try at getting his little bobbed tail.



And feet! I just love kitty feet.
This was not an easy pose to draw. Foreshortened, coming right at me, and those toes and a claw and the furry bits didn't draw very well. But I kept trying.



Every now and then he'd streeeeetch and open his toes for a moment, then re-settle, just slightly different than before. Just enough to make what I'd already sketched, wrong.



I used a black pencil and bristol this time. The bristol was supposed to be for an illustration, but he was right there, and it was right there, so I just used what was at hand.

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While I was slaving over the taxes today, the rest of my family was enjoying a nice lazy sleepy afternoon.

Wendell. Wendell Shmendell. He was home from the hospital, then went back in 2 days later for another 5 days, and is newly home again. We now know has some neurological bladder thing that isn't fixable. So I don't know how long he'll be with us. I can't think about it.

For now though he is so happy to be home on the comfy bed instead of the intensive care ward with a catheter and IV and all the other strange sounds and people and kitties and doggies and mediciney things. And you know I'm very very very very happy to have him!



Charlie. My love. My big lug. "Thanks Mom for putting these towels on this chair, they make a really comfy bed!"


Shmoopie. My little quiet shadow kitty who likes to sit right on top of whatever I'm doing, especially if its "money papers" (bills).


Isabella. In another month or so she'll get taken to the groomers for her summer shave ~ they do a "lion cut" which is just the cutest thing. They leave her mane and feet and a little bob on the end of her tail. The rest is all bare! But in the hot hot hot summer weather, she's much cooler, and best of all, she loves the haircut!


And Saachi. Last but not least. He's my newest. He showed up a couple of weeks ago and just glommed onto us. He's an older, ratty, beat up sweet sweet sweet tomcat (who's not a tomcat anymore!). You can't see how cute his face is here because he's lolling in a post-catnip toy session and is a little stoned. (If you want the BEST catnip toys EVER, get these ~ HotCats Catnip Toys ~ OMG, they're fabulous, you won't be sorry!)

So that's pretty much how things go around here. I work, they lay around.
Next time I'm coming back as one of my own cats, if that's possible.

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This is what's on my mind today. Perfection and rejection.

The wadded up tracing paper in the photo is just a small fraction of what I wadded up and threw out for ONE illustration that I was trying to get just right. Over and over again I traced and retraced and changed things; I walked away, did chores, came back, changed it again; thought I 'had it' finally, slept on it, then changed it again. Over and over. Until finally the deadline loomed and I had to get something I could live with, so I did, and I am, and life goes on.
But will it be perfect? No.

And today I had to take my Wendell to the vet and found out what I've been suspecting all along; he needs to go see a specialist and will probably need surgery to correct some weird bladder thing he has going on.


Poor little Wendell was a stray tomcat I took in a year ago and had neutered, vaccinated and licensed, and he's now a very special member of my family and I love him to pieces. To pieces. And he's always had this problem and I've always figured that's why he was homeless: someone else couldn't deal with it and threw him out.
He ended up on the reject pile because he wasn't perfect.

So I've been all sad and worried about him, and have done a good deal of fussy chores to help work it out. (My garage floor is swept and mopped - scary. The flower beds are all watered. The dead lily stalks are all trimmed. The laundry is done and all the clutter is put away.)

I've also been frustrated with myself for taking so dang long to get this one bloody drawing right, and was tallying up how much time I waste on 'do-overs'.

I don't even know where I'm going with this. I just needed to vent.
Wendell will hopefully be OK, eventually, after a lot of stress and vet visits and more scratches on my arm from trying to get him into the carrier (even when sedated ~ him, not me) and some sleepless nights and prayers and money and more money and lots more money...

I guess I'd better get cracking on some more perfect art (and order more tracing paper while I'm at it...)

Sorry to be a downer.
Maybe the next post will have new perfect art to show off!

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Spring is definitely HERE.
The weather is absolutely perfect today on this Easter Sunday.
I thought I'd take a few pics of the wonderfulness going on in my yard.

Mother Nature is really something, isn't she?
~~~~~~
Hey, if you're a colored pencil person, go check out Nicole's blog where she talks about the new Caran D'ache Luminance pencils that she test drove for them. They look really neat! (And I love that red-on-red piece she did for them, wow.)

And if you're a kids book person, go check out what Rebecca has been up to with her Alphabeasties and other fun! Are those just the cutest thing, or what?

~~~~~~~
Wishing you all a Happy Easter with lots of chocolate but without the stomach ache.

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