Kitty in the City

So exciting to see a book I illustrated released!! Bennie Bear's Dream is now available to buy on Amazon. The illustrations were done in watercolor and inks and everyone seems to love the book!

Bennie Bear has a simple dream…all he wants is a child to love him. Even though other bears think it may never happen, Bennie never gives up. This lovable bear is full of happiness and positive energy, and readers will instantly bond with him, cheer him on and understand the importance of perseverance and love. 

Well as you know I have a cat called Mouse. Who is my muse and even has her own Instagram. Look no fashionable kitty these days is without her own personal instagram. Mouse is an influencer, a mover and a shaker. She is also quite unique. Even though she is quite curious, she has never caught an animal. Yes I have seen her chasing bunnies in the yard. I have seen her chasing squirrels in the yard. I even saw a squirrel chase her up the electrical pole. But she is hopelessly slow in catching anything, maybe her mom never taught her. In any case, all the critters in our yard know they can breathe a huge sigh of relief!

So sooner or later it had to happen. I wrote a children's book about Mouse. It is called Kitty in the City - the cat who just wanted to sing. This is partly because Mouse 'sings' an awful lot. The story is about a theatrical cat who can't stop singing in her garden, and eventually breaks free, wandering the streets of Manhattan before sneaking into a Broadway show and becoming a star!! 

Cat tested, artist approved

Happy Creating peeps

Linking up to Paint Party Friday and Feline Friday

Kitty Siesta

It seems like the run up to the election has been going on for years. I can't tell you how sick I am of it! Get on with it already.

Someone near here 'vandalized' a Trump poster with some Bush/Quayle stickers. Made me laugh! Does anyone remember Dan Quayle, he was a charming simpleton who always put his foot in his mouth?

Here are a few Quaylisms:

"I have made good judgements in the Past. I have made good judgements in the Future."

"If we don't succeed, we run the risk of failure."

"Republicans understand the importance of bondage between a mother and child."

"What a waste it is to lose one's mind. Or not to have a mind is being very wasteful. How true that is."

I do remember him fondly....

We have had a hectic Halloween week and although I did not get into costume my daughter and her friend went as Day of the Dead twins with very impressive makeup.

In an ideal world I would love to sleep through the election...maybe that's why I painted a rather blissed out kitty this week...... I swear if there is reincarnation I need to come back as a fat, spoilt ginger cat. That is my spirit animal! Kitty Siesta buy cards, mugs, prints here.

Kitty Siesta, Watercolor

A low voter turnout is an indication of fewer people going to the polls.
Read more at: http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/d/dan_quayle.html

A low voter turnout is an indication of fewer people going to the polls.
Read more at: http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/d/dan_quayle.h

Linking up to Paint Party Friday and Brilliant Blog Posts.

Rainbow Farting Unicorn

I painted this Rainbow Farting Unicorn in inks as part of the 52 Week Illustration Challenge for the theme of RAINBOW. I hope you like him! He is quite the little acrobat!

I have not had time to really think about Halloween this year or even buy a costume. Last year I glued my Cleopatra wig to my head with a glue gun (it was an accident) so maybe I am suffering from Halloween costume PTSD.

I'm going to take it easy this year. Although Tiny Hamster and his friends are having a Halloween party so I will probably join in the fun:





Linking up to Paint Party Friday and Brilliant Blog Posts.

Guinea Pig Logic

I have to be honest....I cannot stop watching these two guinea pigs talking about pumpkin spice. They just tickle me!

I am very much looking forward to pumpkin spice latte weather and walking around wearing a fleece vest rather than walking about covered in sweat. I may or may not be experiencing those first hot flashes on the rocky road to menopause but it is also 95 degrees. They have had to close the schools because the kids were overheating. But I am still waiting and longing for Fall....

I am busy writing a children's book about guinea pigs...I can't really talk about it .......it is about an adventurous guinea pig that travels the world.....watch this space

I am afraid in the creative process I have more or less become a guinea pig and I am starting to observe the world as if I were covered in fur and walked on four legs and was covered in whiskers. Here is a piece I did called Guinea Pig Logic:

Okay I'm just going off to nibble on some carrots and hay....
Have a great weekend!

Linking up to Paint Party Friday and Brilliant Blog Posts.

Guinea Pig Around the World

Guinea Pig in London

I have started a series of artworks called Guinea Pig around the World in which an unbearably cute guinea pig finds himself travelling the globe and ending up having some fun adventures like tea with the Queen, and wandering the moonlit streets of Paris to buy a freshly baked baguette.

Guinea Pig in Paris

Guinea Pig in Venice

He has also been to Venice, steering a gondola down the canals

I think he will definitely be wearing a kilt in Scotland, and I fancy he will take a ride in a kangaroos pouch in Australia. And I know he is going to be riding the Orient Express at some point and a camel in Egypt is definitely on the cards.

Do let me know where you think guinea pig should go next ..... Also please vote for my little guinea pig HERE on Bored Panda.

Woo hoo! Excited to be part of the Animalism exhibition at the Escape Gallery here in Baltimore. If you are in Baltimore do go check it out. The exhibition runs until 10 April. Profits to the Maryland SPCA.

Art by Emma Kaufmann at the Animalism Exhibtion

Giraffe Baby by Emma Kaufmann

Prints of these Guinea Pig images can be bought here as Greeting Cards, Tshirts, prints etc.

Linking up with Paint Party Friday and Brilliant Blog Posts :

Strike a pose with Ludwik

Move over Kate Moss, Heidi Klum and Kendall Jenner

................there's a new supermodel in town.....and in a world where women rule.....Ludwik is a male supermodel extroardinaire

Not tall dark and handsome

But small pink and wrinkly....................yet HIS ability to strike a pose is legendary. No one knows his way around a banana like Ludwik.

Ludwik the Skinny Guineapig has an instagram account with 37K followers. He know's how to work it, baby

Anyway I fell in love with this adorable creature and because it was the first day of spring I imagined him busily working in the garden. Tell me what you think!

Ludwik in the Garden (watercolor)

Prints of Ludwik in the garden available TO BUY HERE

Linking up with Paint Party Friday and Brilliant Blog Posts :





 guinea pig art art for sale

Zing into Spring

We have gone from freezing cold to full on boiling hot spring-a-ding-a-ling. Get the cocktails on ice, throw a shrimp on the barbie.....ooh it does feel rather electrifying to be walking around in shorts and once more having to care about whether or not one's legs resemble a forest before baring all.

The longer I live in America the brighter my colors become. I wonder if I would ever have been able to paint anything as cheery and bright as 'Chipmunk and Friend' in rainy old England? Do you find your style of painting changes if you are living in a damp/depressing or hot/tropical climate?
 

Chipmunk and Friends

The only downside to spring is the sun highlights the huge tribes of dust bunnies that have accumulated under the bed and shines a rather unwelcome light onto the smeary, dirty surfaces that I quite happily ignore in winter. But there is something about spring that makes even a borderline slob like me reach for the bleach bucket and roll up their sleeves..... and having a good old scrub before lying down satisfied with a big mug of tea and a stack of chocolate digestives.

Are you feeling the zing of spring yet?

That reminds me...when I come back in my next life I want to be a sloth. What wonderful creatures. I painted one the other day. I will chant this to myself every Monday:

Prints, cushions, mugs of this design are available at Society6 and Etsy. Linking up with Brilliant Blog Posts and Paint Party Friday
 

Siamese Cat and Butterfly

Happy Friday!

I've had a busy week finishing up this pet portrait commission of a border collie. It was one of those cute dogs with one blue and one brown eye. It turned out rather dramatic.

I also pained a Siamese Cat and butterfly. I was trying to do something a little different, a little askew with the composition. Prints are available here.

Siamese cat and butterfly (acrylic inks)

Hope you've had a fabulous week. We had lovely balmy spring weather but today it started snowing again. Oh well, it does look rather beautiful......

I also decided to post my creative workspace on instagram as part of the #meetthemaker tag - warts and all. I do TRY and keep it tidy but it always explodes into life! I do work better in chaos....I don't know why but I feel so much more creative in chaos.

Well that's my excuse anyway and I'm sticking to it.

Yes of course I can't find anything. And yes of course I frequently put my brush into my cup of tea.

Maybe I should buy these mugs as a reminder of what goes where:

Anyway it doesn't really matter. I can't kill myself as I don't use oil paints......


I share my studio with my guinea pig Marshmallow. I work to a background of squeaks and scrabbles.

What is your workspace like? Do you keep it tidy or not? Do you need chaos to function?


Linking up with Brilliant Blog Posts and Paint Party Friday
 

It's a Raccoon's Life

For those of you who don't know it Pumpkin is an instagram sensation that just won't quit. Yes Pumpkin is a one year old rescue raccoon who after tumbling out of a tree as a baby and after being abandoned by her mother, was adopted by Rosie Kemp.

This adorable raccoon lives with the family dogs Toffee and Oreo and seems to think she's a dog, uses a toilet and loves watermelon. She also has 615,000 instagram followers. You must follow her ....I guarantee you will fall head over heels with this charming girl.

The interesting thing is Pumpkin lives in the Bahamas. At first I thought WHAT? How can a raccoon even live in the Bahamas...wouldn't they be too hot? It seems that raccoons were introduced to the Bahamas at some point a few centuies ago and that this species is now called the Bahaman Raccoon, and is smaller than the more common raccoon. It adapted that way due to a process called insular dwarfism, and has a more delicate skull and a longer snout.

Anyway Pumpkin was such an inspiration to me that I decided to do a portrait of her called 'Raccoon Breakfast' in acrylic inks.

Pumpkin lives an amazing life in the Bahamas, lounging on the sofa with her doggy pals. It's a dog's life...or should that be a Raccoon's Life.

Buy Raccoon Breakfast as cushions, prints and mugs here.

Linking up with Paint Party Friday, My Favorite Pet and Brilliant Blog Posts.


nursery art prints for sale

Superbowl Madness!!

We had an exciting Sunday. The whole country went completely wild for the Superbowl!! Even though I know jack about football I decided to root for the Carolina Panthers because they have a theatrical quarterback called Cam Newton. I don't really understand the rules of American football.

These are the basics: Using the down system, the offense has four downs (essentially four plays) to go 10 yards. If the offensive team advances the ball at least 10 yards in four tries or fewer, the team receives another set of four downs.

If the offense has failed to advance 10 yards after three tries, the team usually punts the ball on the fourth down (a punt is a kick to the opponent without the use of a tee). The other team then begins with its own set of four downs, traveling in the opposite direction.

But I don't really know what any of that means. If you listen to the commentary they talk a lot about tight ends. Are they referring to the posteriors of the players? It's all double dutch to me.

The game stops and starts every few minutes so that it seems like it was invented to show as many adverts as possible and that's OK because adverts are specially made for the Superbowl and they are really good so no complaints there.

Since I could not easily follow the game I stuck to doing what I am best at: stuffing my face at a superbowl party with chips, hotdogs, guacamole, pizza and other artery thickening delights.

Have you ever watched American football and do you like it? And what is a tight end?

In the end the Carolina Panthers didn't get anywhere (the Bronco's whipped their asses) but I felt like painting a big cat so I did this Jaguar (available at Redbubble)

It's great to find admirers of your work on the web. I was thrilled to read a great review of my shop over at Life with Peanut. So do go check it out!!

Linking up to Brilliant Blog Posts.

Fox in the Snow

We have been flooded with snow for the last week. Heaps and heaps. Piles and piles. And then the aftermath was even worse. Either the ploughs didn't come or if they did come they would spray snow all over your sidewalk.

So while I was indoors, claustrophobic and climbling the walls I painted this little fella who is looking at the slow drift of snow flakes. It is available at Redbubble. He was painted in watercolor.

During the snowstorm we also lost one of our two guinea pigs. Yes little brown Peanut has gone to guinea pig heaven. She was such a sweet and gentle little thing. RIP Peanut.

Peanut in the doll's house

Linking up to Brilliant Blog Posts and Paint Party Friday

Snowmageddon!

Flamingo Tango, 18 x 24 inches, acrylic inks

Even though we here in Baltimore are bracing ourselves for 'one of the worst blizzards ever' that is going to hit us today, I still felt compelled to paint a bright, tropical painting that I call Flamingo Tango. It was one of those things where I could have added a lot more detail but I just liked it like this so I left the flamingo's to it.

Things are absolutely crazy. There the shelves have been picked clean in the stores.

I am tucked up as snug as a bug in rug baking cookies and garlic bread. I don't plan on going anywhere. I have enough junk food stockpiled to last the winter! We are predicted to get 18 - 24 inches of snow over the weekend.

I don't really mind the snow that much. The internet usually goes down and all the neighbors are out in the street doing wierd things like talking to each other!! It is a bonding experience and since we don't have a snow blower we will probably need to borrow one from someone at some point. This was me in Snowmaggeddon 2010 (some people have pointed out that while I am busy posing others are slaving away digging up snow) - what can I say I'm more of a poseur than a shoveller!!

UPDATE SATURDAY MORNING

Feeling a bit claustrophic. Have been eating a lot of garlic bread. Watching my neighbor and his snowblower. Only 24 hours to go.

You can see Flamingo Tango in my Etsy shop and prints are also available.

Linking to Just another Linky and  Paint Party Friday