Custom Cat Portrait : Lucy (Tortoiseshell)
10 x 10 Oil Painting
Gallerywrap Canvas
© 2005 Leanne Wildermuth
All Rights Reserved

Click “read more” for side by side & detail shots!

P.S. Does anyone know where Blogrolling went?! CRUUUUUDDDDD……

When Mark left for Iraq, I kept pretty busy. Not only did I paint a whole bunch of paintings, I painted almost every room in our house! I redecorated, ripped out walls, rebuilt things and replaced things (major things)!

We bought this house about 9 years and 5 months ago. I was pregnant with Caitlin so all I could do when we moved in was pick the colors. Everyone else painted my house! I remember how I chose the color scheme for her room, it was based on the box of a pair of shoes I bought at Payless. Lavender, purple and green. Mark thought I was nuts of course, but I went along and marked what should be painted which color and left for fresher air. He trusted me (like a good man should!) and loved how her room turned out.

For 9 years and 5 months, it’s the only room in the house that never changed. Personally, I think it has a lot to do with not wanting to let the girls grow up, especially now that both the girls are in the same room.

This week though, things have changed. Our baby girl turned 9. Then our littlest one decided that she was finally ready to grow up a little more too, fully potty training herself. New white mates beds were delivered (for free! I like free!), bunk beds came down, and now they are getting a young girls room. Sigh. They picked the color. Okay, sortof. They sortof picked the color. Okay I PICKED THE COLOR. You got me. I just let them think they picked the color. So, ssssh. It’s our little secret.

Today we’ll finish painting, and we’ll build beds, and we’ll decorate, and it will be pretty by bedtime tonight, even if bedtime ends up being midnight. Again.

It’s a great color, and they do love it. I’m not going to go spoiling the before and after pics, so I’ll show you this, which is precious anyway, because she will not take no for an answer to “Mommy can I have the brush please?” and “Mommy can you put more paint on my brush?”

I just finished, so this is wet paint (glare). I deepened her nose, painted her whiskers and most importantly, gave it my own “seal of approval” signature! Hey did you know I have that same signature on my ankle? Yep, I’ve been signing my paintings this way since, uh, a long time ago. I got the tattoo in 1990!

For those of you here from Michele’s today, HEY! Hi there! Nice to see you!

Details forthcoming, once the paint is dry I will varnish, then I will scan and post the final images and detail shots. That’ll happen some time this weekend. This is a 10×10 Oil painting on gallerywrapped canvas. 🙂

Lucy’s portrait is in her final stages now. What’s left, you ask? Whiskers! She’s off to her mom for proof approval, so this tortie is almost finished. 😀

She’s starting to grow fur now! This is the second layer, and she’ll receive about 2 more coats of fine little hairs before she gets her whiskers. I’ll detail her nose tomorrow as well. Yes, in case you’re wondering, I paint each hair one at a time. That’s how they grow, right? 😉

Here’s where I left off on Lucy’s portait. I’ve got her back and both paws nearly completed, they have about 4 layers on them now (they’re meant to be somewhat “blurry”, since her face is the focal point). They’ll get one more coat of very fine light reflective fur before they’re finished. I also deepened and began lightening her chin. This afternoon I’ll be working on the next layer on her face, I’ll post another work in progress when I get finished up provided I still have some daylight in the studio to get a good pic. I am planning on completing this portrait some time tomorrow.

(Click “works in progress” category to view Lucy’s painting as it has progressed!)

For the first time ever, I present my photography, framed in really expensive stuff, and ready for showing in my very own living room! (That air intake vent has been a PITA since we moved in here. I wish I could hide it!!)

These are all 16×20 black frames, and I chose a 8mm archival white mat with a black core, which really sets off these photographs. For my regulars, I posted these when I took them just a couple of months ago. For my new readers, you can see two of them here: Jay and Cait. I don’t think I’ve posted Mark’s here, but you can see that one here.

I’m quite proud of how all of these turned out, and even the gentleman who cut my matboard asked if I was framing them for a gallery. 🙂

Why is it that when I’m trying my best to be understanding and caring, the one I’m trying to understand is the one I understand the least at that very moment?

Why is it that because I care so much, the only thing a lack of understanding brings is intense sadness and/or frustration?

Why is it that the more I try to show someone I love them, the more crazy I make them?

Why is it that the most productive conversations sometimes are arguments?

Why do arguments have to hurt so much if they’re so productive?

Why don’t I know a better way to be productive?

Why is it when my brain is throbbing from pain that the tears that so desperately need to fall, won’t?

Why is it that when I feel a little better and my head isn’t throbbing so much, and I feel like I can go forward, I turn music on, and tears are triggered and falling all over the place?

Why is it that I’m always out of Kleenex when that happens?

Why is it that my head hurting doesn’t make me cry, but all the crying makes my head hurt?!

Why is it that things like this happen when I least expect them?

Why is it that something that may seem so small or unimportant, is so very very huge in my mind?

Why is it that I live so very far away from the people who understand me the best? The people who would trigger my tears just because they know they need to fall. Those are the people with whom I say “yeah!” and “I know!” the most in any given conversation. The people who would analyze things with me until the sun comes up and not think twice about over-analyzing things, because it’s just fun to pick things apart. It keeps brains happy.

Why did God make girls so #^<%!$% emotional?!?