Sketchbook Page-3 (and cover)

Jobin, The Mad Catter
ballpoint pen, 2013
page 8.25" x 5.5" (20.955cm x 13.97cm)
NFS

The nature of sketchbook pages is that not all ends up good and there are a couple dreadful ones on this page but that is ok.

I'm experimenting with seeing how far I can distort the forms before I lose the cat. The top left for example looks more like a chihuahua or bat and borders on being too cute.
Trying to find a non-representational version of the cat while avoiding cute and cartoony is not that easy, at least for me.
Another Jobin, The Mad Catter here.225,226

Ricky the Cat

"Ricky"
oil on panel, 2010
5" x 7" (12.7cm x 17.78cm)
private collection

I painted a cat.
That looks oh so fat.
But really is just a fluffy black cat.
A cat that really is black like a bat.
A simple painting of Ricky the cat.

Attentive to something that must be a gnat.
Surely he'd get up if it were a rat.
So tell me, just what do you think of that?

Stretched out on the floor til it's time to chore.
Cats catch all the varmints till there are no more.
This is their story, from all days yore.
Or maybe it is just feline folklore.

Task is all done, catnap on the table.
This is the end of my little fable.208

Maniacal Snow Drift

"Snow Drift" sculpture
foam, plaster, wire, acrylic paint on mat board

"Jobin Study" painting
oil on panel,
2011, private collection

Sometimes you just have to break away and try something for the simple pleasure of creating. Something outside of the normal scope of work.
Here's a fun little project I did as a Christmas decoration.

My inspiration came after seeing the Tim Burton show at LACMA. I just had to do something grim and maniacal for a change. I love doing projects like these. It takes me away from the usual art I do and has a way of feeding my creativity when I go back to it. So I find it artistically healthy.

The recipient is a fan of this kind of art. I sent her two emails, prior to giving it her, as a teaser of what was to come and to arouse her curiosity. They were hints based on my ideas. The first an old (modified) philosophical question that was the basis for the piece. The second a short poem I wrote for it.

The first email:
If a tree screams in the forest and no one is there to hear it, does it make a noise?

The second email:
Beware of Serene Scenes


Snow can be evil,


Snow can be grim,


It can rise up against you,


At its own whim.


The small cat portrait is of her (mad) cat,which isn't friendly to other cats, the mad catter you might say. Originally that was what I was going to give her. Upon finishing it I thought, how lame that would be to hand her that! But I still wanted to incorporate it into the sculpture though so I hung it as an ornament. It did not have to make perfect sense, this was all about the fun. No rules.160

Click on images for larger view

'Of the Night' 3

"Nocturne-Lucy (Cat)2"
oil on panel, 2010
5" x 7" (12.7cm x 17.78cm)
private collection

The nocturne... it's origin, mid 19th century French from Latin, nocturnus, meaning 'of the night'.

A perfect subject for the nocturne, the cat. Surreptitiously slipping through the hushed night without a sound. Low to the ground, quick light steps with a purpose. It's shadow the only thing to keep pace.

My sister's cat Lucy. I spent what seemed like forever trying to capture the night shot, no tripod, handheld, just clicking away... far more challenging than the daylight, especially a moving subject. I would get the shot but not the action, the action so familiar to us... fleeting, almost unseen.

She finally had enough running around then just sat there watching me, with her curiosity, tilting her head and staring.106

Click for "Nocturne-Lucy (Cat)"
Click on image for larger view

'Of the Night'

"Nocturne-Lucy(Cat)"    SOLD

oil on panel, 2009

5" x 7" (12.7cm x 17.78cm)

The nocturne... it's origin, mid 19th century French from Latin, nocturnus, meaning 'of the night'.

A perfect subject for the nocturne, the cat. Surreptitiously slipping through the hushed night without a sound. Low to the ground, quick light steps with a purpose. It's shadow the only thing to keep pace.

My sister's cat Lucy. I spent what seemed like forever trying to capture the night shot, no tripod, hand held, just clicking away... far more challenging than the daylight, especially a moving subject. I would get the shot but not the action, the action so familiar to us... fleeting, almost unseen.

I got it and put it to paint, a simple image in composition. The more simplistic an image the tougher it is to pull off. Without the shadow, without the hint of reflected light under her chin, and perhaps the three subtle flashes of light, the image would fall apart. I decided no real hard lines too, the softer edges of the long shadow, the dark mass above, the lost edges of tail and paws all add to the haunting effect.

The challenge with the simplistic is that the few elements that are included carry more weight. The graphic pattern of light and dark, texture, edges, whatever... it all has to work harder towards an end. This is true regardless of medium. Sculpture, design, photography, dance, music, etc., it's all the same.32

Click on image to enlarge