kitty sketch crops

OK, if anyone happens to be reading this, I sketched the kitty that I'm supposed to be drawing and tried different crops. There really aren't a whole lot of options because she wants the whole cat in the drawing. I do tend to like to draw parts of things rather than the whole thing. Anyway, here are a few that I tried. Which one do you like? I can't decide. Probably because my heart just isn't into this.









I know they're all fairly similar, but there isn't that much of a variety that I can explore and still include the whole cat. Help!

Girl in Funny Hat

Hi all. I just did a quick sketch because I felt like doing a sketch of a person. I was just looking at a bunch of portraits on-line and feeling all inadequate because they were all so good. I know I am good at drawing people, but these people were better. I need to start drawing more people again. This afternoon I have to get started on a colored pencil drawing of a cat. This is another cat that has died and the photographs that I was given are horrible. You can't see any details in the fur and the eyes are glowy, etc... I do have to do it because I said I would, but I think most people would have rejected the job on the basis of the poor quality photographs. I only have until June 5th, so I really need to get started today. I love cats, but I don't like drawing them...

Speaking of cats, I woke up to a sick cat yesterday. My Phoebe threw up and then was very lethargic, wouldn't eat, etc... I know something is terribly wrong when she rejects treats. I really did not know what to do as I don't have any money right now. I know that just walking through the doors at the veterinarian costs about $75.00 and that usually by the time all the tests have been conducted, you can't get out of there for less than $250.00. Now, of course, I wouldn't just let her die, but I know that sometimes you take a cat in and pay all that money and they just would have gotten better on their own. So, I decided to wait it out a bit and fortunately, by the time I had to leave for work, she seemed like she was starting to feel better. Then I visited her at lunchtime and she seemed a lot better. Today she seems like her normal self. So, I'm glad I didn't panic and take her in right away...

Hope everyone is having a good day. I need to go out soon to run some errands and then come back to work on the drawing. *grumble grumble*

Feeling sketchy...

I did feel a bit sketchy this evening, so I sketched this baby African elephant. For some reason I also feel quite exhausted even though I didn't do all that much today. I am not exhausted from the sketch as it was not a great deal of work. I did update my book blog in addition to updating this blog. Maybe that's it: I have blogging fatigue. It's a fairly new disorder that really hasn't been researched much. Maybe I can go to the doctor and they'll give me a pill. Or maybe I can just be part of the study or I could conduct the study myself, but I'm really too tired for that. I really do feel like I should exercise, but I think the fatigue is going to prevent me from doing that. Oh, lazy lazy lazy... Blogging fatigue is a real killer.

My pears are calling my name, but I already ate one this evening. I've been obsessed with pears these past few days, but they better stop calling my name because I can't afford to eat a pair of pears per day. I think this blogging fatigue is getting the best of me, so I will say "buenas noches."

Back home...

I am home again and am feeling very happy about that fact. As much as I like staying at the two places I stayed at this weekend, it can be taxing to be on the move all the time and I always sleep better when I am at home. I am exhausted right now, but I'm finally having my coffee now at 3:19 PM, so I'm hoping to pep up a bit. It's good to be sitting here doing nothing with my own pets. I heart my kitties and I was missing them and feeling very guilty about the limited attention they were getting this weekend. But, the rest of the day and evening will be all about relaxation, so they will like that. I am promising them that when I am done blogging, my lap will be available. Tonight there will be no worries about the car. I am bringing it in tomorrow, so I can worry then.

I hope everyone is having a good holiday weekend. I enjoyed mine, despite the exhausting traveling, having to work yesterday and the car issues. And it's only 3:26 now, so I have much of the afternoon and all of this evening left to sit with the kitties. I plan on reading and maybe watching a movie or two. Maybe some drawing... Speaking of drawing, I did manage to scribble this elephant in my sketch book between dog walks and driving this weekend. Not much, but at least it's something... Now I'm off to enjoy the rest of my coffee.

Gone to the dogs...and quite possibly some June bugs...

I have been house hopping the past couple of days. Last night I pet sat at one house and tonight I'm at another. I am not only at a different house today, but had to go back to the other house to feed the dogs as their owners were not expecting to be home until 10:00 PM and then to my own apartment to visit my cats. Wouldn't you know that with all this running around, my car started to behave badly. I am hoping it will hold up until Tuesday as this current pet sitting job is not done until Monday and I don't think any car shops will be open that day. Damn cars and damn holiday weekends!

I was very excited to see that there is wireless here and that she left me the code! Hence, the blogging. To ramble on more, I'm very sleepy. I think it is the combination of the stress of the car situation and the fact that the dogs I was with last night are very barky and are inclined to go "tap tap tap" on the hardwood floors in the middle of the night. Also, there was a very noisy scuffle at about 4:00 AM involving the cats(yes, there are two cats that live in this particular house too)and quite possibly one or both of the dogs.

Now I just heard "tap tap tap" on the window behind me. Either the June bugs are doing June bug stuff (such as clumsily flying into windows) or someone was knocking. I am going to hope it was the former.

My website, so far...

Hey guys, just thought I'd show you what I've been working on. I had an epiphany on Thursday morning, which resulted in me getting up at 5:00 AM to work on the website. This obviously made my work day miserable as I had gone to bed only 3 1/2 hours earlier. Anyway, when inspiration strikes, you just have to go with it sometimes, even if it results in sleep deprivation. My epiphany had to do with trying to make a website using a Wordpress blog. We used Wordpress in one of my classes and I remembered that you could add multiple pages that link together, just like a website. So, this is what I have so far. Not much yet, but it's a start. When you are there, click on "elephant species" and then click on the photos. I spent all morning and afternoon trying to get all that to work right. Grrr, very annoying...

Elephant Banner

Hi all. I was playing around with making a banner for my website, and decided to add it here (obviously, with a different title;)). This is definitely not the final banner, but just me playing around with photoshop. I will probably try several versions before I decide on anything, but it is o.k. to use here. Was excited that I was able to change the position of the title and the size of the font while playing around with the html here on blogger.

Anyway,I hope all is well with everyone. I dodged a speeding ticket today, so I am quite relieved. I got pulled over and gave the cop my "I don't have any money" sob story, which is a very true story, and he proved that not all cops are out to get us by giving me a written warning. But, now with a written warning on my hands, I feel like I'm going to have to drive like an 80 year for the rest of the summer. He did lecture me, which peeved me a bit. Yes, I know I did something wrong--don't treat me like a 5 year old, please! I have a tendency to get pulled over quite a bit and am wondering if the little red car is at fault as I don't think I speed more than most of the people I know.

Just to add a bit more, as I was not feeling particularly wordy earlier, I started reading Mansfield Park today. This is the only Jane Austen book that I have never read, so I felt like I had to read it for a sense of completion. There is a price tag on the book that says: "Special value: $1.98." I don't think I would likely find that special of a value today unless I bought it used. Maybe $3.98, but not $1.98. Quite the bargain. About Jane Austen, I think a lot of people unfairly label her work as early chick lit. I don't think that's the case. She had a lot to say about the society that she lived in and the role of women in that society. It is not just romantic fluff.

Now to move onto dinner, the cats and I shared a can of salmon tonight. I had mine over rice and they ate theirs plain in their Fancy Feast dishes. It's not often that we share our dinners.

Well, I am off for the night. I just started watching "The Reader" which I'm sure is going to be a joyful (yes, sarcasm) experience.

An update about me--yes blogging is narcissistic...

Hello good blog buddies. I haven't been around much lately, but it seems that you haven't either, so I suppose it's all o.k... I have been busy, but in a weird way as I haven't really been doing anything of substance. I'm just going through one of those phases where I'm excited about life and I want to do it all. Of course, there are always limitations. For instance, not having money can get in the way of doing it all. As much as I want to travel the world, I have pretty much given up on that idea.

What have I been doing? Well, my brain has been in high gear and it wants to be fed (I guess this is the consequence of no longer being tortured by school). I have been brushing up on my Spanish and trying to learn French (ha! I tried to share some of the fruits of my labor with my former French teacher co-worker and she laughed at me (I did so deserve the laughter), but I'm having fun, anyway) as well as planning my website. The problem with brushing up on one's Spanish and trying to learn French is that accents and words and kinds of weird things start to get jumbled together. But I so need to do them both, so I can't just concentrate on one!

To prepare for the website, I have been filling the pages of a little journal that I found at Barnes and Noble the other day. If you look at the cover, you will see it is perfect for my endeavor and as it came from a B&N that is closing and has lots o' stuff for 40% off, how could I resist its charms. This is what the cover looks like:




My mom was in town today and she brought me a pistachio birthday cake! jb knows of my love for pistachio cakes as she was kind enough to make me pistachio cupcakes a couple of years ago. I have about half of the cake in my fridge. I think I will bring it work on Sunday as nobody (even the biggest pistachio cake fan!) needs that much pistachio cake.

I found out that geocities, the free web hosting service where I have my rhino website is shutting down soon (the end of an era as this was one of the early web hosting services), so I will have to change links in my code and all other such nonsense and find a new place to host both it and my new website. Why are they doing this to me now? Anyway, I will leave you with a page from my little elephant journal:

"NORA: Practice Makes Purr-fect" - Check the sequel too.

I like this part: "She plays only when the mood strikes her, which is usually several time a times a day for short periods." Sounds like me...

As promised...

Here is my Save the Rhino Day painting. As usual, when I work with watercolors, I feel compelled to outline the painting with a pen...not a good idea. Hope everyone had a good day. Maybe you thought of a rhino once or twice. If not, that's o.k. because if you're on my blog now, you are looking at a rhino or two. Looking, thinking--all of it's o.k..

Happy Save the Rhino Day!

Bonjour, blog buddies. It is May 1st and that can only mean one thing (well, maybe 2)--it is Save the Rhino Day! I do plan on doing a new rhino drawing or painting sometime today in honor of our favorite horned beasts, but now this old painting will just have to be a place holder until I get to work. I am going soon to get my driver's license renewed and then out to lunch, so it may be awhile before Mr. or Ms Rhino appears.

I always find it amusing and annoying that we have renew our driver's licenses on (or around) our birthdays. It's your birthday! Now you get to go wait in line in the stinky, dirty chairs at the service center. You also get to have your eyes checked and pay $24.00 (it might even be $28.00) for a new piece of plastic that allows you to drive your car and to buy alcohol. Happy Birthday! My birthday is actually not until tomorrow, but I certainly do not want to spend my Saturday morning at the service center. Besides, I am walking with the animals tomorrow, so I can't wait until then anyway.

So, in closing, I just want to tell the rhinos how much I am rooting for them. Keep on fighting, sweeties! We want you to continue to grace our earth for generations to come.