For Leonard, With Love xxx

    I draw cartoons for a number of reasons: the simple act of drawing/painting makes me happy; it eases and calms my mind; it entertains and cheers my beautiful Husband when he opens his lunch tin on break at work every day; it creates a record of our lives as seen through the world of our cats, who we love so dearly; and lastly, the process and end product speak for me when words just aren't enough to express the feelings in my heart.

 

    This week, we said 'Goodbye' to Leonard, our beautiful, bouncy baby boy. He was a foundling, discovered by my elderly kitty, Harvey, who insisted that he become his friend and play fellow. As very much as Harvey was my absolute soul, Leonard became my heart.

 

    He was a true innocent; a gentle giant with such a sweet nature and simple brain. He had the most basic of needs - to love, be loved, and to play. And eat biscuits. A lot. He has been a pure bright light in my life and a whole world to my Husband. 

 

    His health has never been good, but he has taken his meds every day like the goodest boy. He suffered with an enlarged heart - he had too much love for a regular one - and in the end it couldn't hold him in and it gave him up to become a dazzling shooting star that will forever remind us that true magic exists and can be found in the most unexpected places.

 

    Right now, our own hearts are broken, but we will heal and every time we look at these cartoons we will remember Leonard with smiles. I will continue to paint him, and his brothers who are with him in the Rainbow Meadows...they will always be alive for us as long as I can put pen and brush to paper. I paint with love and send it out into the Universe and share my sweet beloved cats so that anyone who sees them can add a smile to their day. 

 

    Goodnight my beautiful baby boy. Shine brightly now that you have the whole sky in which to run and play. I love you. xxx

 

 

 

It's (Eventually) a Hocus Pocus Hallowe'en!!

OOPS!

I missed it this year! I had AAAALL these big plans....which went the way that big plans tend to go! So here we are, more than a week behind the celebration schedule and no Hallowe'en kitty pic...is this one of the signs of a coming Apocalypse? Ha! No - I'm just fritzy still and things take their own sweet time...

Fear not, compadres, for a picture is finally here! I had SO many options spinning in my brain but I finally decided on a particularly witchy theme, prompted by the long awaited release of a cult classic follow up movie - guess which one!

 

For this I used my watercolours - Mijello Gold and Winsor & Newton with Artistro's metallic shimmers, Faber Castell Classic Colour pencils,  Dr P H Martin's Irridescent calligraphy ink (copper plate gold), Dr P H Martin's Bombay black India ink, and Tachikawa School G Pen nib pen for line work and detail. It turns out that Leonard's actually quite comfy in a frock. Roomy, he says. 

*  *  *  *  *

 I put a spell on you! Finally! 

Happy belated Hallowe'en!! - Shroo xxx

A Personal 'Thank You' to Her Majesty, Queen Ellizabeth II

 

 

 

    This last week has been a little surreal. The death of Queen Elizabeth II has been a shock to the system - more than I would have anticipated. I think times like these shake the bedrock of life and remind us of all the times when grief has been so overwhelming that the universe stood still and every second felt like trying to breathe underwater.

 

    Compartmentalising only works in the short term and the loss of an icon, whoever it may be, allows us to open up the proverbial box, break open the floodgates and let grief take hold in a way that may not have been possible at times where loss has been so close, so keenly felt, that the only way to find a path forward was to restrain, control and suppress.

 

 

    This week I have mourned the loss of my family, friends and beloved pets, fading memories of sunny days, and a child that might have been. It has been turbulent, overwhelming and ultimately cathartic.

In an earlier year I would have journaled extensively, written my mind and heart clear of tears, but I don't feel that call any more. So I came back to my happy place, my now, my life here and the peace it brings me, and I finally managed a piece of painty paper that sums things up for me. 

 

 

    The pain of loss and the hole that's left when a loved one departs this world is all consuming and it's easy to miss the love that's waiting to fill the void, and the simple moments of beauty that raise an involuntary smile. I am grateful that I have love in my life, friends who fill my heart with joy, and a home filled with happiness. In spite of all that has been, what is now is more than I could ever have hoped for, and I thank the universe for all those instants of beauty, those glorious helplessly funny moments where a smile or a laugh lights the darkness. I can heal and begin to unfold the tightly bound memories that have collected dust for so long and reconcile my past with my present - marked not by loss and pain, but by those bright unbidden dazzling moments.

 

    Thank you, Your Majesty, for this one last gift - this one just for me. Thank you for sharing some peace. I hope that your loved ones left behind can share some small moments of beauty and joy, together, and remember you as a mother, grandmother, friend. I hope that the sparkle that remains for them doesn't come from your jewels but rather from your smile. 

 

 

    We are all just people, moving between moments. May your moments be bright, bold and beautiful. Here's to smiling a memory to mark the day. Sparkle, you gorgeous beauties, for you are all a dazzling cascade of amazing moments. Go share some xxxx

 

Leonard in Oz

    Britain has been blustery. VERY gusty. Like...."whoops, there goes my skin," kind of blowy! It's affected everybody and everything and whatever hasn't been nailed down has been gusted off into the beyond.

 

     It would appear that a not-nailed-down-Leonard has fallen victim to the winds of doom, sucked up into the sky by the vacuum cleaner of the gods and returned to terra firma far, FAR from home - right on the opposite side of the planet.... Yep - he's been blown to Oz!

 

     It appears that the foreign exchange programme has an unsuspecting participant! Leonard, and accompanying storm bait, has plummeted to Earth in the land down under; but instead of crackhead Munchkins and delusional wand-wielding bubble addicts in candyfloss attire he's surrounded by enormous jumping shrooz and crazy beasties with murderous intent. No catnip in sight!

 

     Without a yellow brick road, our Leonardo DiCatrio will have to make his way to civilization and find a way to contact his sisters and their resident Aussie companion, Maxxie - maybe he can help?

 

 *  *  *  *  *

*Note..... my ongoing scanner-based frustration is building to Apocalyptic levels..... I know it's a good scanner, and I've seen other people manage superb and accurate results, but no matter WHAT I do I just can't get the colours right! They lose all subtlety and come out way more blotchy and garish than the originals. And it just WON'T pick up the metalics when I use them. I am angry at technology....is there anything more pointless? You think if I lose my temper and throw the thing with the full force of my grumpy frustration that it will fly far enough to reach Leonard in Oz? Grrrr..... We may be finding out soon!!!*

 

 

Gusty Fluffs

 

     It's windy out!

    Looking back at the collection of kitty cartoons I'm seeing a bit of a pattern.... Every year we get the blustery, fur-ruffling windy-woos - if proof of the resulting bonkers devastation were needed then here it very much be! -

2019 -

2020 -

2021 -

2022 -

....told ya!
 

Maxxie Settles In....

 

    It's been a few days since our cultural exchange student arrived chez nous..... After some initial misunderstandings - Missy COMPLETELY misconstrued the "Hey, have you seen my didgeridoo?" question - things have begun to jog along in a fairly amicable way.

 

     While Sapphira's fascination with her new Antipodean visitor is apparently endless, Missy and Maxxie have bonded over a casual enjoyment of intoxicants. They also share some physical traits, notably a generous hind portion which presents each one something of a barrier when stumbling to bed in their allotted 'cat hotel' booths. The word the springs to mind would be "wedged".

 

     All will be jolly as long as there are no further language based euphemistic bafflements....

.......ah.....oh dear..... Maxxie's just asked Missy to show him her "most impressive billabong"......

 

 

 

I Believe in Mirrorballs...You Sexy Thing!

 

    Aaaaaaaha....Missy has been busy. Little Miss Fabulous has decided to impress and share her stunning fabulousness with the world by becoming a living mirrorball, the embodiment of shining glory. Sapphira's job is to shine the torch beam as she swings from creaking rafters, blinding the bedazzled eyeballs of admirers for miles around. 

 

    Those mirror pieces are going NOwhere any time soon, stuck fast with Sapphira's super spit, so she sashays along the garden path like a goddess on Earth, blinding badgers and builders alike with her reflective glory. 

 

     I'm not sure this will end well....At some point her overinflated ego will be met by her puffed up curvacious body and those shards of dazzling glass will ricochet far and wide, inevitably leaving a trail of beheaded rodents and feather-shaved sparrows. It'll be a Missy massacre!

 

 

A New Venture

 

    So....Christmas is over, and with the fresh flush of a brand new year slowly turning into a remembered routine, the cats have found that there's room to spare - a few beds vacant - and, although they enjoy a game of 'musical snooze pads' as much as the next fussy feline, the sheer exhaustion of having to schlepp from comfortable warm zone to other comfortable warm zone is just too much to bear.

 

     With this in mind, Missy has taken matters into her own paws and has begun yet another new - possibly highly dodgy - business endeavour: a hostel - a 'kitty YMCA' if you will - with the inaugural guest - Faticus Caticus Maximus Iridius (a mature exchange student of fluffsome proportions) -promptly arriving from a Land Down Under, baggage full of necessities (sandwiches), prepared for an exchange of cultures and all the excitement (and food) that such adventures bring. 

 

     Bedecked in traditional attire, our adventurer is eager to rest his magnificent behind and recoup some valuable calories, and aspects of his appearance have reminded his hostess that catering and liquid fortification are - as ever - a priority. Now they just have to make it past the Duty Free without an international incident..

 

     Welcome to England, Maxxie - and good luck!!!

 

 

 

Missy Karenina

    

    It's cold out. Frosty. The garden was a white crystaline palace this morning and the beauty of winter was breathtaking - almost literally in the icy air. Who could fail to be impressed by the frosted splendour? Who could gaze upon the landscape, luminous under a clear moonlit sky and be unmoved?

 

     Missy. Missy took one look, lit her first morning cigarette and hacked up a sneering response to nature's glory, the remnants of last night's sambuca and kebab rave party still resplendant in a cascade down her neon onesie. Using a chipped, painted claw to hook the spandex out of her ample buttocks, she blew her acrid smoke into our eyes and rasped, "Fak that," and waddled back to bed.

 

     This is Missy, in all her glory. She's our pretty-perfect-party-pop-princess and she knows it. In those seconds where she leaned casually on the doorframe, she pictured herself as the romantic and luscious fragile female icon of some great Russian literary classic. Reality was never really 'a thing' for Missy.... We left her asleep, drooling over her half-spent glowsticks. She's happy. 

 

    She's Missy.....bask in the allure....

 

The Lion Merely Snoozes.....

 

    There are many bonuses to Leonard becoming a house cat once again....he's excellent company for a start - a well behaved boy and utterly adorable; his happy little face is enough to brighten even the grottiest of days; he's a patient listener and never criticises my singing or judges my rants... he's quite the little star. 

 

    The MAIN benefits of having Leonard locked up firmly indoors, however, are the distinct lack of headless, fat-bottomed rodents deposited underfoot and the absence of a need to check every inch of him for warrior's wounds, random holes and missing bits thanks to his continuing belief that he is, in fact, a lion of Herculean proportions. 

 

     He's terrified of fireworks, thunder and the rumble of the bin collections. He has a weird aversion to brushes and brooms. He's perpetually disconcerted by the inevitability of Thanos spiders and he is STILL intimidated by the chickens who berate him for disturbing their tea and scones and distracting them from their crochet. He will, on the other hand, take on rabid gangs of murderous bears, rampaging gorillas, herds of stampeding elephants, invading aliens and zombie hordes with not a flinch. He has no concept of limitations due to his size or species and will take on any adversary with what amounts to legendary gusto.

 

    Now anchored to his castle grounds our Knight of the Golden Biscuit has been forced to turn his aggressions on Mr Shroo, his favourite pink ribbony mousey-onna-stick which is proving to be an admirable and formidable nemesis. For now, the boxing gloves are shelved, but the claws remain razor sharp and ready should wandering yeti barge through the ramparts with murderous intent. 

 

    House kitty Leonard is the eternal guardian. Cuddly fluff-butt curled up with whiskers a-twitch, lulling the world of monsters and demons into a false sense of security with his wake-up drool face and savagely adorable little pink nosey. 

 

    For now, at least, the lion soundly sleeps.....

 

 

A Fond Farewell, In Full Technicolour

 

     Losing a pet is a trauma equal to, sometimes greater than losing a human from your life's circle. People without pets will never comprehend the loss. We grieve more, I think, for animals because our relationships with them are so uncomplicated, so simple. Humans are so complex and we have to come to terms with so many negative emotions - anger, resentment, guilt, bitterness... None of those things are present when an animal dies, just the pain of the void that they leave in our lives - their unconditional love, loyalty, trust, comfort and the joy they bring. 

    To pay tribute is almost an impossible thing as nothing really seems fitting or equal to the task. The only way I know how to express my love and loss is through my art, and, in some way through my words. In drawing a picture to represent Gizmo's journey from this world to his eternal realm, I wanted to reflect the joy that he brought to all of us. Inside, I crumpled and felt only the pain of loss as I have before with other feline companions, but Gizmo was strong - they all have been - and deserved something equal to the value he held for myself and especially for my Husband, for whom he has been a constant friend these past eighteen years.

    This is a happy picture, although painful to draw and paint. There are aspects which reflect the sadness.... The two sisters, Missy and Sapphira comfort each other as their older brother leaves them behind, although the road to his happy hunting ground is closer for them than for their younger adopted brother, Leonard. He sits close by, a little on his own, bidding farewell to Gizmo whilst waving to Harvey, his brother and best friend, lost to us in 2019 who I know he misses dreadfully. They are all sat down, firmly rooted in our world, as he floats towards his ginger furred litter brother, and Harvey, the latecomer to the family, the other grumpy old man, he and Gizmo studiously ignoring each other even when curled up on the same small cushion...

    But Gizmo is pictured still close to his earthly family, still almost within our reach. He filled our lives every day - we are still seeing him in everything we do, hearing his demanding meows, feeling where his furry, purry body would snuggle. We hold on to him just for a while... Ahead of him he has candy floss clouds that catch the love we send, an endless supply of heavenly sausages and even Harvey is willing to share one of his snuggly wubbies with his curmudgeonly compatriot. Sadness, loss and joy, expressed in a way which, at a future date, even my husband may be able to enjoy. 

     For now, it stays inside a folder with other emotive pieces. The record is made, the catharsis has been processed, and the colour and joy that Gizmo gave us will be held as a record never to be forgotten.

A Hero's Passing

 

 

Gizmo Aloysius Graymalkin Wilkins. Hero, champion, leader, companion, friend. A sporter of impressive trendsettng pantaloons and fashionable crazy whiskers. Scourge of rodentkind and fearless warrior. "Sossoge" aficionado and quiche devourer...bumsmells innovator and soft cuddler. 

*  *  *

    Tonight, Gizmo -the champion of our hearts - has left us to cross the Valhalla rainbow bridge. His once proud and virile little body could no longer house the mighty spirit that resided within and it was time to grow wings and fly to the hall where all eternal mighty heroes reside in glory, feasting on tales of their astounding achievements, triumphs in battle...and "sossog" quiche.

 

 

     He was stalwart - walking beside his Father and best friend, matching him stride for stride, ready to celebrate the wonder of life and to offer solace when the challenge was too great. He never flinched, never failed, never waivered. Through to those last few moments, he remained, within, the Gizmo of his youth and left us with his mighty paws curled protectively around the arm of his dearest human - my Husband, Glynn. 

 

     The void left by the softness of his fur, the steady gaze of his eyes and the expressive meows and purrs is filled with the immeasurable love and joyous memories that can only come with eighteen years of constancy, the gift that was his lifetime. 

 

     Gizmo Aloycius Graymalkin Wilkins. He may have left for his new horizons, but everything that he was - everything that truly matters - will stay with us forever. There is no following this act - he remains the leading cat in the performance that is our life. We will cherish every second of him and one day join him at his table and voyage with him beyond the stars into eternity.

 

     Until the curtain rises on the next act, goodbye Old Man. I love you.

Sleeping Cutie

    Seriously???

 

    No matter how many snuggly beds we buy, how many wubbies, how many comfy nests we make up for him, Leonard will inevitably choose the most awkward, impossible, uncomfortable looking place to settle down and sleep. Anything precarious, pointy and possibly life threatening and he's there, snoring like Jabba The Hutt with a hangover. He's taken the whole 'being a cat' thing to the limit. 

 

   Who knew 'extreme sleeping' was an actual thing??

 

To Boldly Go....

    Gizmo decides to celebrate Bill Shatner's voyage into space with a journey of his own. After all, there's something to be said for trying to emulate your heroes.  

 

    Unfortunately Gizmo neglected to consider the negative side of confinement in the same sealed environment as his own particularly juicy and expressive trousers....

 

#bumsmells #fartinaspacesuit #onefelixsouptoomany

 

 

 

Tricksy Treaters

    The kids went trick-or-treating this year. They were allowed to choose their own costumes, which is always a risk, but I think they did quite well - although I'm not sure where Gizmo was going with his selection... The last thing that old boy needed was a spectacularly voluminous set of flamboyant trousers....even his companion, the ubiquitous rubber chicken - eternal deflated champion of "humour" - was endeavouring desperate escape from the windy well of despair...the gaudy pantaloons of doom... 

    ...And NOTHING good was ever going to come of Leonard's balloon obsession.

     Missy's recollections of the whole event are fuzzy at best, thanks to her "special" home brew and Sapphira loved her little devil onesie so much she had to be forcibly peeled out of it three weeks later... 

    They managed to menace six catnip toys, a packet of jammy dodgers, three socks and an extremely worried hamster. 

    Not a bad haul considering....

 

Medication...That's What Ya Need...

    Tablets, injections, syringes, sprays, gels, oitments, more tablets....this house is like a largely disfunctional emergency department. Aside from Missy and her 'breaking bad' sideline, medications are NOT a welcome part of our daily activity. 

    The only one of the feline four who's happy to imbibe is the only one who has no current official medical requirement, even though she 'falls over' regularly in front of Daddy on the garden path...."Oh, look, Dad! I did fell over an' evryfin'! Oh no - now I duz needz sum medsin an' tablits an' shit. 'Elp it down wiv a sambuca an' a kebab Dad. Love ya Dad. Oh! I did fell over agen!Oh no!......"

 

 

Love's Labours....

* sigh* Leonard in love.....

 

    Now that Leonard's housebound - thanks to his medical issues - he's pining for the love of his life. Her name is 'Boots' and she lives in her gilded castle next door. She's quite a mature lady, but in Leonard's eyes she is a creature of glowing and radiant perfection - an angel who fell from heaven just for him to worship and adore. 

 

     For months now he has been found on next door's property just gazing at the door awaiting his Love. Of course, this being Leonard, upon seeing her, all suave and debonair intentions are out of the proverbial window, and he rolls over and waggles all four paws in the air, rolling around like a daft kitten who's just discovered catnip. 

 

     Boots, for her part, is quite the coquette, and teases him with playful pats and scampers, flicking her tail and twitching her whiskers. She's not overdone the make-up, relying on her natural beauty and curves to captivate her boy toy!

 

     Alas, it is a doomed romance. Aside from Leonard's now permanent incarceration, Missy is opposed to the match in no uncertain terms, as Boots is her NEMESIS! Missy (somewhat ironically) refers to Boots's flirtations as "an embarrassin' display of slaggin' it up" and says she'll "knife her" if she sets paw on our land. She patrols our borders in her lazy way, flicking the odd sparking dog-end over the garden fence and eyeballing Boots's doorway with all the venom of a permanently pissed off rattle snake, flick-knife in paw and crotchless knickers hiked right up to the very top set of her kitty tits. She's not messin' about.

 

     Forbidden love. All that remains is for the two star-crossed would be lovers to gaze at each other through the window, bridging the expanse with their mutual adoration, while Missy plays aggressive gooseberry forever marking the eternal boundary between the two.

 

 

 

Daddy's Little Helpers

    When Daddy had to take a little time off work when he was injured, the kids pulled together to figure out how they could help..... Gizmo turned his paws to baking - mainly sausage-based dishes. Oddly the pies are always hollow when they're served...and a bit sucked.

 

     Sapphira and Leonard offered their dusting skills....an irony, given that Sapphira is a whirlwind of muck and Leonard's capacity to muster filth from any environment is famed worldwide. The spiders were an issue for Leonard, who sees them as small evil eight-legged alien 'shrooz', however they provided wriggling snacks for his miniature psychotic sister. 

 

     Missy had her own plans, falling back on her 'shady trading' to cover food bills...The medicine box was raided - AGAIN - and the neighbourhood filled with spaced-out hedgehogs and tripping badgers, the result of a couple of lines of the good shit (max strength Lemsip cut with hayfever meds). We've not seen a penny from her dodgy deals, mind you - she rolls in stinking of tequila, nicotine and pungent herbals, dodging the fuzz like a proper shady crim. (Also, she's saving for a summer in Magaluf so .....yeah...)

 

    Gizmo just likes pies. It's that kind of life...

 

A Little Sprout

Back to begin again with a Gizmo classic...

    Old man Gizmo seems to have half of the garden buried in his geriatric fluff, no matter how much brushing and combing is perpetrated upon his rickety person. I think he's managed to become one with the universe by becoming his own doddery eco system.... One thing is certain - he'll not run out of bio fuel (/toxic waste - point of view depending....)

 

Another lunch tin doodle for hubby.

 

 

The Ongoing Immortalisation of Mr. Gizmo

 

 

 

    It's been a funny old start to the year. I don't think any of us could have envisioned a year ago life as it is now and the series of historical world events that have marked our lives indelibly. 

    It seems that each day brings a further descent into chaos, fear and confusion, and no end is in sight - a daily viewing of the news has to be faced with a mixture of anxiety, fortitude, dread and a sinking sense of inevitability. In the midst of all of this chaos it's more important than ever to find an anchor for a sense of security in this ever howling storm. Amidst the darkness and the turbulence there has to be a calm place - somewhere small to light a candle and sit warm and safe within its reassuring glow. 

    My inspiration to make art has been, I admit, somewhat diminished since the start of the new year. I haven't made an art journal entry in ....well over a year. Has it been a year? Crap....yes...a year! That always used to be my 'go to' and I have realised that I really miss it. Not the big complicated arty farty pages, just the silly simple stuff that's just for the fun of it. I have limited mobility at the moment, so using the studio space with all the access to wondrous media is a bit of a non-starter....I have taken over space in the living room that I can use, relatively pain free, but with limited stuff-storing potential! Because of the whole space restriction thing, I've shuffled back to embroidery and I have to admit, I think it's saving my sanity! All those colours there at my fingertips ...and such a mellow process. 

    Of course, I need a subject. There's soooo much to choose from. Sooooo much.... soooooooooooo much...... But then, there's really only one subject of note that seems to take over so much of my inspiration zone: Gizmo! 

    Yes - the highly vocal old man of whiskers is becoming immortalised in a growing number of ways. I've decided that I am obviously being given a universal hint, so I'm going to run with it and create "The Nine Immortalisations of Gizmo!" So far, he's been cartooned:

....he's been inked in a fine art tribute to his Heathcliff windswept magnificence:

And now, in accordance with the directions from my self-calming muse, he has been immortalised in embroidery thread, at home amidst the winter garden foliage:

   

    He's nestled inside a 5" embroidery hoop and completed mostly in satin stitch. Gold thread picks out his glorious if craaaaazy whiskers and his permanently surprised eyebrows. His distinguished greying facial fur and manly chest fluff as well as his developing 'silver fox' moustache and beard are worn proudly as his cheery and hopeful little face looks towards the possibility of tickles, cuddles, chesty rubs and, of course, sausages. 

    (For the eagle eyed amongst you, you may notice that, in spite of a good roll with a lint brush, Leonard has found his way into the frame by means of a couple of strategic wafty Leonard fluff hairs of the very kind and variety that always seem to be present on toast, in tea and, inexplicably, in fresh, FACTORY SEALED tubs of yoghurt and tins of baked beans. Leonard is taking over, one hair at a time!)

    It's just a little project from me for my Husband who loves Gizmo so much, and whom I love beyond all bounds. It's an exceptionally tardy Yule gift! I know it's not perfect as I'm still feeling my way a little, but it was such immense fun to do and it kept me from going completely bonkers as the daily news reports burrowed through my brain like the voraciously destructive sand worms of Dune!

    Now I am inspired; back on track. I have work to do and commissions to complete, and I am back to enjoying the process and looking forward to the year ahead. I think that, when everything is overwhelming and the path forward seems unclear, the thing to do is just to take that first step.... You can do it in platform shoes, comfy slippers or wellington boots - it doesn't matter: it's the action that counts. 

    As for Mr. Gizmo Fo'Shizmo Fizzy Whizzy Doo-dah, his next immortalisation is brewing... Watch this space!