Here's Lucy!

Early in December, before I received my last minute commissions, I was asked to be the guest artist as a fundraiser for Feral Care.

Feral Care is close to my heart because my dear Willow came from there. I of course said yes, but then I realized it would be better to be working on something that was close to being finished, rather than starting from a blank canvas, or even a sketch.

Yet, all I had in the wings was two dog paintings. So, I put on my Facebook page that I would offer a 50% discount for any cat portraits in 48 hours. My friends Erin and Theresa responded. Lucy their cat was getting older and they wanted a little painting....

So, here's Lucy.

Right around the time I started painting her, (Erin provided me with three rather out of focus pictures), I had the opportunity to meet her. She sat on my lap and pressed her little paws into my upper chest. Adorable. So, while I thought the pictures did not do her justice, I knew she was very sweet and wanted to capture that sweetness.

I was happy with this, until I showed it to Mr. Rick. This painting did not pass the Mr. R test. When he saw it, he frowned and said it looked like a caricature. I worked on it for a little longer before I remembered that all my paintings are whimsical caricatures. What I aim for is personality.

How'd I do?