Cats and Dogs

The Pittsburgh Arts Festival traditionally brings us rain and this year was no different. The day before it was set to open we saw a whopping 2.25 inches of rain in 24 hours. Things eventually dried up and then it was a delightful production.

 Later, I enjoyed my own little arts festival. Usually, I use floral subjects and watercolors but this time, I was feeling reckless and decided to be a tad more daring. So, I packed up my pastels and trotted off to the nearest park. The benches were all occupied and I had to trot back to the car. I found a few blankets in the trunk that I always knew would someday come in handy  

I spotted a tree under which I could set up my travelling art studio but was a little nervous sitting under the tree with all those dog walkers strolling by. Sometimes the pooches get so inquisitive. Since I was balancing the pastels and sketchbook on my lap, I couldn't make a quicky get away if I had to. Eventually I did have a visitor.  A cute little pug came by and simply stopped to stare. He stood completely motionless. I asked his owner if he was always "like that" and the  owner said he did this because he was friendly. Huh? I found it very strange. He didn't bark. He didn't wag his tail. He didn't move. Perhaps he was lovestruck. You see, I was trying my luck with pet portraitures. Meet Sasha, an adorable Shorkie. I've been sketching her for practice before I try the real thing. And you may also remember Saphire, the Siamese SophistiCat of posts from a time passed. Thank goodness that Saphire was hiding deep in my sketchbook or I fear that funny pug would not have been so motionless. A few microscopic bugs also dropped by and let's just say that they became one with the artwork when I tried to brush them away.

I've also been wasting spending a lot of time fooling around with doodling exploring abstract designs. I found it to be very zen but without purpose until I started to find ways to incorporate it into my work. It has given me a fresh way to look at things as I played around with inserting different backgrounds and color. Yep, you guessed it. Here they are. So, which do you like better, cats or dogs?

"Art washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life." - Pablo Picasso