Illustration Friday topic is Whiskers

Whiskers is the topic this week. Need I say more?

Over the years the cats that we have shared our home and lives with have kindly submitted to being models for my paintings. This is Amanda who has graced the pages of children's books in both realistic and stylized form.

This is Scotia, who was the sweetest cat that ever lived. All of the other animals loved him too. He had huge paws with extra toes and was the first cat I ever lived with.

This is Reggie. He was one tough cat. He had been the runt of the litter that was abandoned. He ended up being huge around 19 lbs. 

This is Leonardo. We had him from a young kitten. He was incredibly playful and loving.

This is Zoe who was very shy and very sweet. She was a model for this United States Humane Society Holiday Card that was commissioned. I loved doing this piece and was very pleased that it received several design awards.

All of these guys were in the pages of this Golden Book. I thank them all for the joy and warmth that they bestowed. 

Illustration Friday Topic is Tree

Okay, I know I used this image for a previous topic, but it fits the topic tree so well. It did take me quite a while to paint so I figure it gets to be up again.....right? I live in an area full of monumental redwoods. It still awes me that they have been around for so long. If they could talk the stories they could tell. There is a park nearby with a huge grove you can hike through and there are stories of those who came before us that stood beneath these same trees.