*Chessie, the mascot of the C & O Railroad dreams on.
I met a kitten in an adult cat's body, beautiful grey and white. In the shaded light she was, her eyes picked up the green of the grass. In brighter light, her eyes are a wondrous copper. Cloudcat's coat is "soft as a cloud." Her owner, Ivy, wanted me to paint Molly/Chaz, aka "Cloudcat."
I dreamed and pictured Cloudcat dreaming yet awake in a field of soft clouds, as soft as her downy coat.
How will I paint Cloudcat? I even put a blank canvas on the wall so I could picture her and make sketches.
"Nothing Happened"
NOW YOU SEE IT
Then I had a dream of Cloudcat in a dream state....she was dreaming in clouds/with clouds, yet solidly on Earth at the same time.
Touching paint to canvas is always a surprise. The colors came in, soft yet edgy. Bands of color bright. Small details, most of which vanished in the painting journey were smudged away.
** "Paint has a mind of its own...., paint what wants to be there. You see things beyond what we see....."
When I pictured the clouds above Cloudcat, I "saw" animal forms in the clouds. Most of these shapes were cats, especially Cloudcat, dreaming about herself, as cats do. Most of the cat images were based on photos of Cloudcat her owner had sent me. I painted along, brushing in faint yet visible forms in the cobalt and titanium white sky.
What a Surprise! When I stood back at a distance to view...I saw a dog, named Angel, in the sky. She is a "butterfly dog," gold and white and so silky soft. Angel also lives in the same house with Cloudcat. I had not pictured Angel, but there she was! Another cat face appeared as well, our cat Orange. Somehow Orange seems to paint himself into almost every painting? He appears in rocks and seas and fields? How does this happen?
Sketch of Orange: Awake/Asleep.
Ruff, our furry one, painted his face into the sky background of a horse painting. Go Figure.
Ruff Sketch: "The Great Furry"
** Why is this? I sat down to rest and relax and saw a show about Ann Arbor, Michigan. The interviewer talked with David, a street artist, who works with chalk...small, large, surprise paintings, and special effects create smiles from viewers as they walk along.
"Don't you mind when your paintings fade in the rain?"
"Not at all."
David explained some of his effects create anamorphic paradoilia: "animated."
"What's that?"
Paraphrase of David the artist: The brain recognizes patterns and looks for familiar shapes, especially in clouds, wallpaper, drapery or rock formations. Imagination takes over and a familiar shape appears. It's fun!
I finally had an "explanation" to the mysterious shapes that somehow appear in most of my paintings, any size, any style....even years ago. Most of these are animals, no surprises here!
Cloudcat continued to evolve, slowly....very slowly. She took her time for the "just right" next step. One tiny stroke at a time. I placed her in various locations and light effects so that I could study here....Painting is my greatest teacher: my greatest joy. Effortless~
Cloudcat's coat color varies depending on the light, from soft tabby grey to a hint of brown/tan. Here she is stretching out one of her parti-color paws, blends of pink and grey on her paw pads, a genetic trait.
THE SECRET LIFE OF CLOUDCAT
Dreaming Out Loud, purring right along...I realized she was "finished" when a young teen age kitten leaped into the air and tried to take her portrait down from the wall. He is good at jumping! So focused~ a cat friend on the wall? Who is she? I rescued her in time and placed Cloudcat on a high mantel.
Point of View
Here we see a parade of dream clouds above Cloudcat: from your left view to right: two views of Cloudcat as a kitten. Between her ears a small white shape appears either as a cat looking upward (profile), a small heart shape, or an angel bird. A cat's small shaped face in pale blue is wedged in next to Angel the dog You can see Angel's nose and eyes with ears pushed back, rather than fanned forward. Next a triangle shape of a cat face appears. Here is our cat orange coming in by surprise. Angel and Orange painted themselves~ what fun!
Right before Ivy picked up the painting, someone noted that Cloudcat's eyes shift depending on how you view her. In other words (worlds) if she was directly at eye level, her eyes looked straight at you/through you. If you placed her above your eye level, her eyes shift upward into the cloud shapes as if she were a waking dreamer. Try it, even on the screen you can see the shift of "point of view!"
ART IS WHERE YOU FIND IT
*** Kids cartoons help creative adventure for all ages: The Painting Pixie, leaves small pocket paintings in surprise locations to be "found" and enjoyed. Lately I painted a pocket painting with crayons on canvas total fun~
* "IT'S THE JOURNEY," David, Artist Ann Arbor Michigan
Blogger Search Key Words: Cats, Orange Cat, Ruff Cat, Painting, Creativity
Related Posts:
Wander and Ponder, Silver Stars and Moonbeams (Chessie)
Enter Extra Orange
Epiphany Cat (Ruff)
Welcoming Mrs. Harris
Going Within (Sancat)
Resources:
* Chessie, mascot of the C & O Railroad, C & O Museum, SW Michigan/NW IN Many years ago, we had a cat named Chessie, named for this boxcar mascot. Years ago, I took this photo. When I was a little girl, I loved this kitten emblem.
** UTR Michigan (Under the Radar, Michigan) aired Nov 28, 2019, WNIT, PBS.org, one of the segments, David, Street Artist in Ann Arbor Michigan
*** Pinkalicious The Painting Pixie, The Frost Fairy, Drawing the Nose (all drawings were different), Duocorn, a two horned unicorn appears. PBS Kids.org. cartoons and more, fun for the whole family.
Dahlis Roy: Visionary Artist, Author, and Tai Chi Instructor
Images:
Chessie on the Boxcar, at the C & O Railroad Museum, photo by Dahlis
Sketches by Dahlis, "one liners"
Orange Cat
Ruff Sketch both of these are quick pen sketches on paper, fun and fast!
Cloudland finished portrait of Cloud Cat, oil on canvas by Dahlis
Photo by Ivy, also an artist, photo reprinted with permission.
