I must confess - I have gotten fixated on painting my family’s pets. This latest piece, entitled “Christmas Cat”, is of sweet Lucy, a Maine Coon adoptee. Lucy’s first owners booted her after finding out they were going to have a baby. Maybe they believed that old wives’ tale about cats sucking the breath out of babies in their cribs. Maybe they just got tired of cleaning the litter box. Whatever the reason, they decided they didn’t want Lucy, already declawed, and posted her particulars on Craig’s List.
Enter my youngest, a college student at the time and avid cat lover. Two hours after the listing went live, Lucy had a new home. Eight years later, Lucy is a pampered and spoiled house kitty with more toys and “tiny houses” than you can imagine. This painting was inspired by Lucy’s escapades a couple of Christmases ago. She decided she liked to hide in the Christmas tree. And that’s all she did - just perch among the branches, lights and ornaments and peer at us, her subjects. Nothing was destroyed, nothing knocked over, nothing batted into smithereens.
So far I’ve painted my schnauzer Baxter, My rat terrier Izzy, and now Lucy. I think my next animal will be a goat. No, I don’t own one, but I think they’re pretty cool. So, stay tuned…