Life With Cats and Art April 2022

Published: Sat, 04/30/22

Life With Cats and Art April 2022

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Spring is here! One of the things I miss is waiting for the arrival of spring when I lived in NY. The new buds on the trees and fresh spring flowers. The bright green of new leaves awakening. Of course I have those all the time now in Florida. I have to consciously remind myself to appreciate it and not take it for granted. The spring in NY was so special because we had to go through a freezing cold winter and anticipate thawing out. The smell of fresh cut grass reminds of those days when we shed our jackets and ventured out. Even the cats and dogs would shed their winter coats.

With Mother's Day around the corner and Father's Day soon after, I am offering a 20% discount on my main POD site www.karenzukrosenblatt.com. Just add this code SXMYAU at checkout. It's a good time to stock up on any greeting cards as all of my art and photography is available there.

Below is my "Cats and Flowers for Mother's Day" card. Last issue (March) I outlined all the steps it took to create the composition. You didn't think the cats just sat and waited for me to take the shot, did you?

Red and Bella have an interesting relationship. He is the alpha cat but she gets him back sometimes. The other day I was on the recliner couch with Bella lying alongside my legs. Red jumped up to lie on my chest and snuggle. I was so happy because he doesn't usually do it if he sees her there, although there have been a few times they both stayed in their spots (he on my chest and she by my legs). Sometimes they will both lie alongside me back to back. This time his tail was slightly swaying and it waved in front of her face too many times. She started to play with it and he paid no attention until after a while she nipped it. He was startled and yanked it away. As he turned to her she hissed and he ran off. It was so funny. I never saw her hiss and coming from such a little ladylike cat I cracked up. Cats are very amusing.

I skipped the April exhibit due to a cold but expect to be at the May 21 - 22 show at the Big Apple Bazaar, for Art Scape in the City. Saturday 10 - 5:30 PM. Sunday 11 - 5:00 pm.

In the (February) newsletter I showed the progression of Meowjongg - Cats Playing Mahjong from beginning through the various stages. I take a photo after each painting session to evaluate and decide what the next steps will be. I call this series "Anatomy of a Painting". The first one I showed here was Jazz Trio in the January newsletter. I mentioned a new painting that wasn't finished. It is continuing in my music theme collection. The title is Jazz Cats. This is how it developed.

I had a general idea of cats playing instruments and did a rough pencil sketch. I couldn't decide how many or what instruments to use. I am trying to get more proficient at Procreate on the iPad so I imported it there to continue work on ideas.

Procreate is a drawing application and there are artists who complete final art that is spectacular. There are layers to use so it makes it easy to move things around. With time and practice I will get more proficient at it but for now it is a tool I use to explore ideas.

After many variations and trying out arrangements of the cats and instruments I decided on Tuxedo Cats and this was my general sketch in Procreate. I wasn't sure about the bottom part so left it alone at this point and began to put it on canvas.

This was the beginning stage of laying it out on canvas. I had settled on the idea of four cats and found a way to have them at different heights by either sitting or standing with the flute playing cat at the top. I chose tuxedo cats for contrasting color.

This stage took the most time. Refining the cats and the instruments and adding all the details took several days. Next I worked on the curtain and added the music staff and notes.

The folds in the curtain and the music staff were very challenging.

At this point I felt it needed something on the lower part and added a cat audience. My thought was they were throwing catnip. I added the circles on the curtain and refined the cats and instruments.

Now I wasn't happy about the way the canvas was divided and expanded the stage area. Also, I thought the cat audience was too busy and decided to simplify it and took out the catnip.

I decided to make them dancing to the music and refined their positions and movements. I also added floating notes and music symbols around the performing cats and some turquoise color to the curtain area to echo the piano and drum.

Here is the final version of "Jazz Cats" after more tweaks and more paint. I added more colors and refined the music notes and the keyboard. It is available on prints and on products at www.karenzukrosenblatt.com. The original is available by contacting me directly or at the May show. It is also in my Etsy Shop along with other original oil paintings. 8" x 10" - $240.

Here are some of my recently sold art and photographic works. All my images are available on www.karenzukrosenblatt.com. Some are also in my other shops with additional products.

Meowjongg - Cats playing Mahjongg Pillow

Calendars are still popular. Cats, Dogs, Africa and Venice are available in 3 sizes. Click on the image to order. Use this discount code for 20% off on calendars in my Etsy Shop. CAL20. Add in the promotion box before checkout.

Cat Life 2022 Wall Calendar. "Cats And Koi" cover image.

Dog Life 2022 Wall Calendar. A Collection of Dog Oil Paintings.

Cat Life 2022 Wall Calendar. "To Bee Or Not To Bee" cover.

Venice 2022 Wall Calendar. Photography by Karen Zuk Rosenblatt. Cover (St Marks Square).

Africa 2022 Wall Calendar. Photography by Karen Zuk Rosenblatt.

My new shop on TeePublic is growing. Great prices on tees and many other products. My shop name is https://www.teepublic.com/user/karenzukart

If you would like to view previous newsletters click here

Art gifts are always popular:

Greeting cards, prints, photography and products with all my artwork are on my main POD (Print On Demand) site: www.karenzukrosenblatt.com
Gift cards are available as well. You will find the links at the top of the home page. Any image you see here or on any of my other POD sites can be produced on a product you see in my Etsy Shop. Just email me at karen@artbyzuk.com
Calendars and home decor items are available in my Zazzle Shop: www.zazzle.com/artbyzukcreations
Apparel, accessories and more are available in my Red Bubble Shop: KarenZuk.redbubble.com
Checks, address labels and checkbook covers with my artwork and photography are available on Check Advantage: www.checkadvantage.com/karen-zuk-rosenblatt
I am continually updating my Etsy shop to include other subject categories and original paintings: www.etsy.com/shop/karenzukrosenblatt
My website is a work in progress and includes links to my POD venues and other news. It's an independent site and I may add e-commerce eventually. Right now it links to my POD sites and coordinates all in one place: www.artbyzuk.com

If you have any questions or comments please email me via the link below. I will continue sharing "works in progress" as well as the history behind some of my paintings. I take photos of all my paintings as they progress. If you have a request of one of my paintings to be "dissected" let me know.

Until next time...

Let us all stay well!