Feline Friday: the extended edition

I must have cats on the brain, or at least more than usual, for this Friday, I have a lot of kitties to share with you!

I've been meaning to update everyone on my former office cat, Marlo.  She finally has a home!  Actually, she's had one for a few weeks, but I wanted to wait til all her tests came back and to make sure things were working out before airing the news.  All the tests came back clean, and she has been adjusting to her comfortable new life with a loving family and her new name.  Miss Marlo the Office Cat has become a Sarah, and is making one little girl a very happy camper.

In honor of this good news, I wanted to share a collection of my favorite photos of my time with her.  It was a cherished time in my life, and I desperately miss her every day, but I am comforted knowing that she has a permanent home.

Now, onto my next project.  Last Friday I posted about another cat that has taken up residence next to my office.  I'm trying not to get too attached like I did with Marlo/Sarah, but this new little kitty is determined to win me over!  I noticed her a few days ago sitting on top of my car, staring at my office.  Oh my.  I'm still looking for a home for her, but til I find one, she's more than welcome to sit on my car.  And don't worry, she gets many petting sessions during the day and plenty of food and water.  She's happy.  I just know she'd much rather be inside on a full-time basis.

I've been on a coffee kick recently and last night I was enjoying a nice hot cup while doing some sketching.  I was sitting in the floor of the living room, for some reason.  It is a well known fact around my apartment that if you leave your seat, Mr. F will immediately take it over.  This is what happened when I moved from the couch to the floor.  He dashed over to the couch and snuggled down in the spot I had warmed for him.  A bit later Mr. E decided to join him.  It was too adorable not to share.

While they were being cute on the couch, I kept sketching away and sipping my coffee.  Inspired by my coffee drink and the cats above, I did this quick doodle.  It's everything that I think of right now when I think of cozy.  Cats and coffee.

Happy Friday!

Out and About: Craft Menagerie

I'll be setting up shop at Craft Menagerie taking place at Arnold's Bar & Grill on Saturday, March 3, 2012.  Arnold's is located at 210 East Eighth Street, Cincinnati, OH.  The craft show will be from 11am-4pm.  My table should be right inside the front door.  Stop in and say hi if you can!  There will some amazing artists there.

In the Studio: Chihuahua

I've been busy designing a T-shirt for a special client.  I don't want to give away the entire thing, so I thought I'd share a little part of the sketch.  Yes.  It's a feisty little chihuahua.  Ain't it cute?

Feline Friday: In search of a home

A few days ago, another cat was dropped off in the parking lot of my office.  The story is a little odd.  It was dropped of here months ago as part of a spay/neuter/release program.  Shortly thereafter, the cat was picked back up and taken to a foster home and was put up for adoption.  Apparently the foster situation was not ideal and she was unfortunately brought back to live in the outskirts of the parking lot.  I feel just awful for the little thing.  She's been through so much change over the last several months and needs some consistency in her life.  I'm currently searching for a permanent and loving home for this little girl.

She's a very healthy looking black and white cat with white whiskers.  Her pink nose has a black spot on it and her eyes are a curious, bright chartreuse.    She's quite loveable and desperately craves human affection.  She's been spayed and her left ear has been clipped.  She enjoys long petting sessions and doesn't mind being picked up. 

As I have mentioned before, I'm at maximum cat capacity in my humble apartment dwelling, otherwise I would happily bring her home.  So, if you, or anyone you know, are looking for a darling feline companion and live in the greater Cincinnati area, please send me an email to gerileighshields@gmail.com. Also, if you can, pass along the information about this lovely little creature.  In the mean time, she does have a little makeshift shelter set up outside and I will continue to feed, water and give her lots of much needed love.

Happy Friday!

Feline Friday: Mr. E and Aglamesis

I was looking through some old photos a few nights ago when I ran across some of Mr. E as a kitten.  He's such a monstrosity now that I forget that he once fit into one of my hands.  Even during the first few weeks of our relationship he was very much involved in my creative process.  Below is one of my favorite photos from this time.  I use to work exclusively on the floor, for whatever reason.  This gave Mr. E ample opportunity to "help."  Here here I was trying to draw a sign for Aglamesis Bros.  when little Mr. E discovered his love for pencils.  I did a series of hand-painted signs for them.  This one was for some specialty drinks.  Some of these signs are still hanging behind the old-fashioned soda fountain.  Ahh, memories.

I found this short video about Aglamesis Bros.  If you watch closely, you can see some of the signs when they pan past the soda fountain.  The signs are for cones, shakes, sodas and a sundae called the basin street.

When Mr. E got a bit older,  I was getting ready to go to work at Aglamesis Bros., but I couldn't find the visor to complete my uniform.  I looked everywhere, then I realized that someone else was already wearing it.

Seriously.  He did that to himself.  It's strapped around his tummy.

Happy Friday!

Out and About: The BonBonerie

It was brought to my attention a few weeks ago by a friend that some of my paintings were on display at The BonBonerie, a delightful bakery here in Cincinnati.  I was curious to see which paintings were there so I stopped by on my way home yesterday.  I had a feeling it was the paintings that involved baked goods, and I was right!  I knew those two had sold during the "Little Conversations" show, but I didn't know where they ended up.  I do have to say they are perfect fit in the bakery.  I love that they are displayed on cake plates.  ADORABLE!  Needless to say, I was excited, and although the shop was crowded with hungry customers, I was able to snap a couple of pictures, with Zach's help.

I absolutely love The Bonbonerie, and because I have a huge sweet tooth, I couldn't help but get something scrumptious to take home with me.  I ended up getting an Opera Cream cupcake.  I believe that the bakery is known for their Opera Cream Torte, or at least that's what I know them for, and I was thrilled to see that they had it in cupcake form.  If you're not familiar with opera cream, it is a decadent white cream made with fresh cream, milk, and butter.  I first encountered it while working at Aglamesis Bros., which is known for their opera cream candies.  Anyway, after dinner I treated myself to my Opera Cream cupcake.  It was a little piece of heaven.  The light cream offset the dark chocolate cake and ganache perfectly.  Seriously.  The last bite was probably the best thing I've eaten in a long time.  It was a nice way to end the evening.  And, as you can see, Mr. F was jealous.

Feline Friday: the slightly blurry edition

Mr. E gets very involved in my paintings.  At least he likes to check things out during the process.  I guess you could say he's kind of like my manager, constantly making sure that I'm on task.  About every 5 minutes he likes to pop onto the desk and survey the progress.  In this picture he has giving me his two cents on the new painting.  Yes, he may look angry, but he's actually just shocked that I'm finally painting a cat that looks more like him!  He gets very upset when I paint orange cats.  He usually snubs those paintings.  This one got his sniff of approval.  Happy Friday!

In the Studio: Painting in progress

Last week I posted a sketch for another "flying kitty" painting.  I thought this week I would post an in progress snapshot of the painting.  The finished product will be on display in the Be Happy. Dammit. show at Museum Gallery/Gallery Museum, opening this Saturday, February 4.  Also, just for fun, I took some pictures of my palette.  I haven't cleaned it off in a few years.  It's starting to look like a world of it's own, don't you think?  My favorite part is the blue "crater."