On my recent trip to Japan, I had every intent to see some Japanese art at a gallery or museum, but then we got sidetracked by the exhibitions of French Impressionists and Van Gogh; skipping them just wasn’t an option. This adorable watercolour painting of a lounging cat at the National Museum of Modern Art in Tokyo is one of artworks we missed out on. The cat’s eyes say worry, but its smile says mischief.
I now finished the mountains in the foreground, and it’s been a fun and smooth sailing so far. This artwork is one of my more structured pieces, a bit like putting together a jigsaw puzzle with little room for experimentation. It’s a more rigid process perhaps, but I also find it quite soothing. As always, no matter how much leftover fabric I’ve got, I still need to make trips to the fabric stores for more shades!
This sumptuous painting depicts forty-two Persian and Angora cats belonging to the American millionaire Kate Birdsall Johnson, the ultimate cat lady. The magnificent boy at the centre is a Persian cat called Sultan.
I’m finally starting a new fabric artwork after nearly five years, probably my longest break yet thanks to the lack of inspiration and motivation. Another more positive reason is that ever since the pandemic I feel like less of a homebody on the weekend, and prefer to spend much more time outdoors even in winter months. Still, I look forward to a big new project I can really sink my teeth into.
It’s meant to be a companion piece for the abstract sailboat artwork I did for my Mum a while back, with a similar style and palette of vibrant colours. I’m basing it on this mountain landscape pic I found:
Now that I traced it, the final version is supposed to look something like this, although as always I expect I’ll have to simplify it during the process:
This Art Nouveau poster, advertising a 19th-century Parisian cabaret, has been reproduced endlessly on mugs, cushion covers, tote bags and fridge magnets. Though it’s iconic to the point of cliché, I could not resist hanging a framed copy in my own living room.
A gorgeous and delicate painting. I love the complementary colours and the tender body language, both from the cat and the woman holding the cat. My own cat will tolerate being held for a couple of seconds tops.
I love the elegance of black cats in this woodcut, though I can’t tell if the cat in woman’s arms is thrilled about being held.
The cat is going to lose it in five, four, three, two, one…
Would cats ever get away with being destructive critters that they are, if they weren’t so damn cute? This woodblock print captures the careless curiosity that makes cat owners everywhere scream with frustration as their precious plants get wrecked.
I rarely remember my dreams these days, but a giant blue cat floating over a village sounds like a dream I wouldn’t mind having.
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