What Marlene has been doing...

Hi Everyone!

We are still here, but August has been quite the month for Mom. The last few months and weeks, Mom has been burned out at work and just plain tired. She's been drawing a lot, but somehow, she just wasn't as energetic as usual. So, last week, she went on vacation. First, she went to the Mojave Desert to view the Perseid meteor shower at the Integratron.

 She didn't get any pictures of the meteors themselves, but she did get some lovely shots of the Milky Way.

Next, she went to Scottsdale to stay at the W hotel.

Where she took photos of the pool. She said that the temperature was very hot, so it was nice to put her feet in the water.

On the way home, she went to Red Rock State Park near Sedona, AZ. She loves Sedona for its natural surroundings and the art scene there. She went to a few galleries and became very inspired and reinvigorated. So, when she came home, she finished another IBKC sketch (of the Lady Winifred)

AND she finished Chani's Om kitty painting... Well, Chani's paws are in prayer position, so we're not sure Om Kitty is quite the right title for this...

As you can see, Chani is unimpressed by her painting.

Finally, Mom hung up all 3 of our Om kitty portrait paintings. She is quite pleased with herself.

So, here's a summary of last week. Mom was gone for about 4 days. Her vacation was a road trip and to get back to us on the last day, she was on the road from 9 am on Tuesday morning and got back to us at 4:00 am Wednesday morning. (She and Fizgig's mom left Scottsdale, went to Red Rock State Park and Sedona, got gas in Flagstaff and then drove all the way back to Santa Cruz where Fizgig lives. Then, from there, Mom drove to us... she says she should have planned the return trip better). And so, on Wednesday, Mom slept for a few hours, got up and ran some errands. And then spent that night and the next day and half watching TV with us. She felt a little guilty about not producing any art during that time, but we made sure that she rested a lot. We think that is what she needed the most. Friday was her birthday, so she had to go out for dinner with some family friends and our grandparents. Saturday was an errand day and Sunday was an art day.

All we can say is that we are glad she is back AND we are glad that she is inspired by what she saw on her trip and re-energized.

Oh, she did take a number of photos of us during her 3 day rest and relaxation period.

Chani-chan

Hello Furiends,

I've been giving Mom the look of Doom lately. She hasn't been very good about posting these last few weeks. Yes, she says that she has been busy setting up her ETSY shop where you can buy the cards she has been making of the Om Kitties and the Cat God of Mischief (or Loki-cat. Mom wasn't sure she could get away with titling the image with that name) and the Charlene Butterbean and Her Motorcycle. But seriously, I think she is forgetting what or who is most important.

Me.

She is endeavoring to remedy this situation. And she has been giving us treats and attention. So, I'm not quite sure what to do. What do you think? Should I forgive her and give her a break?

At any rate, I'm going back to my beauty sleep.

purrs,
Chani
 

New Friend, Buddy the Corgi!

Hi Everyone, Thank you for your kind words the other day. We were able to get Mom out of her funk and she is doing much better. So much so, that she went out and took photos of a DOG!

Shocking, we know. But, we let her do this on occasion because we know that one day Mom would like to be a pet photographer and she needs to practice a lot.

So, let us present to you, Buddy the Corgi. Now we may have mentioned or Mom has mentioned that she just loves Welsh Corgis. Especially Pembroke Welsh corgis. We have no idea why, but she just does. Fortunately, one of her pottery friends is owned by this cute guy.

 I guess he is cute for a dog.

He did pose rather well too.

Mom hopes to use these photos a reference for when she starts painting and drawing Corgis.

OH! And she started to do more work on 9's Om kitty painting. We think this one will be pretty darn cute. She just needs a few more hours a day so she can do more painting! Oh, and we heard her thinking aloud about taking a week off of work and just painting. Now, that would be fun for us and for her!