Good Night Princess

On September 2nd 2015 at 8:30 PM, my beloved kitty Starz had a heart attack in the middle of playing with her favorite toy. She did not make it. Starz was fifteen years old. She'd been with me most of my life and practically all of hers. I miss her so much that I'm almost physically ill.

On September 3rd 2015 at 5 PM, I adopted Jenny from the nearby Humane Society. She cannot replace Starz. No creature can. But she can make it easier for me to adjust to life without my best furry friend. She needed me and I needed her.

I drew this for some self therapy, and because I like to think that Starz is okay with all of this.

Week 25: Seeing Starz

Happy late 4th of July everyone! Whether you're American and it's Independence Day or in another country where it's just another day on the calendar I hope it was a good one.

This is a couple days late, I realize. I thought I was going to call it done Wednesday night but I really truly hated it and was too exhausted to fix it. But after an unexpected day off it looks much better and I daresay worthy as a thank you gift to the veterinary clinic that helped Starz. I changed the background because it will be printed out and that would have been a lot of ink.

On a related note, Starz is doing better but still has to be force-fed. Sigh.

Week 25 Is Homeward Bound

Starz came home this evening. First she pouted under Mom's bed, and then after I forced medication down her she pouted out on the balcony. Now she's sitting just a little ways from me on the sofa and not quite ready to forgive. Hopefully that will change tonight and she'll end up sleeping with me.

Week 25 - Sweet Child O' Mine

For the last three days my dearest kitty Starz has been at the vet recovering from a month-long hunger strike. During that time I've force fed her, took her to a different vet twice who didn't help her much, and over-all worried and stressed until it became clear she was dying and something drastic had to happen. I miss her terribly and am hoping to bring her home this weekend.

Since she's pretty much constantly on my mind and I would like to have a nice piece of art as a thank you to the animal hospital staff once she's better, I dedicate Week 25 to a portrait of her. I'm going with digital media since that will make it easier to blend and show her lovely colors.

Week 20: Seeing Starz + Role Call

Okay, so touching it up and signing it only took five minutes instead of thirty. Could it be pushed farther? No doubt. Will it be? Nope. It was an effective learning experience, which was largely the purpose from the beginning.

She is pretty dang cute.

Also, the sketches I did while out down town today. I'm horribly rusty with gesture drawing, and it shows:
ROLE CALL: So, really curious, who out there reads this thing? Not that I'll stop if I have a tiny readership - I have every intention of seeing this blog through to the end of the year and beyond. And for those who do read it, what would you like to see me do differently that would make this whole thing more interesting? Without readers the blog sort of doesn't have as much of a point as I would like, so feedback from you guys would be wonderful. :)

Week 20: Trudging

Another case of lost interest strikes, but at least it's close to completed this time. Since I'm currently sick of looking at it, almost done though it is, posting it and letting my mind rest for the night seemed like the best course of action. There's some touch-ups to be done, but hopefully that won't take any more than half an hour tomorrow.

Also, when I go on my walk tomorrow, I'm going to sit on a bench in the shade downtown and draw for a while. Should be relaxing and good practice. We'll see how many odd looks I get.

Background noise: The Princess And The Frog

Week 20: Hairy Situation

Finally back to working on this today, and recalling that "oh yeah, fur's kind of a pain...". She does need more orange and I'll be adding black flecks in to blend it better. Surprisingly, her face is the easiest part right now. I expected it to be the most difficult.

The background color will be changed, but right now it's not a priority. Also yes, her eyes will be adjusted. i just didn't want a creepy-looking pupil-less cat.

Background noise: Youtube playlist, mostly Hunchback of Notre Dame music.

Week 20: Meow

This weekend my mother is having a moving sale and I'm at her house to assist. Somehow I ended up being up and around at an hour where I normally just roll over and go back to sleep for two more. This was long before the sale even started, so caffeinated and on a temporary sugar rush, I decided I might as well start Week 20 while Mom tried to keep from going nuts.

It's another challenge week, and therefore another shot at digital painting. This week's subject should be recognizable from my blog's avatar. I can't recall ever really drawing Starz besides as some horribly represented anime-styled cat, so this should be interesting to say the least. Liberties are also being taken to make her look less annoyed in the painting than the reference photo.

Background noise: Mom running around like a headless chicken