# Cat in pastel



## Abby (Nov 3, 2014)

Here's something a bit different from me


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## escorial (Nov 3, 2014)

belongs in the Tate


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## Firemajic (Nov 3, 2014)

Abby--Exquisite...[sigh], The different color of each eye adds a mysterious mood to this art work, as does the fixed stare.Wonder what this beautiful feline is watching...Thank you foe sharing this stunning portrait.  Peace...Jul


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## Abby (Nov 3, 2014)

Ah thanks Escorial and Jul  I can't seem to concentrate on drawing and writing at the same time, hence lots of art lately and no words...wish I could multi task!


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## Gumby (Nov 3, 2014)

Jul used the right word, exquisite! Those different colored eyes nail it. I've often looked at animals with different eye colors and noticed how the color seems to make the expression of each eye different, just as in your portrait. The lighter eye looks more wild and the dark eye seems to have a warmer expression.


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## Abby (Nov 3, 2014)

Thanks! I would love to own a cat like this, unfortunately my hubby hates cats so it will never happen


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## LeeC (Nov 3, 2014)

Abby said:


> I can't seem to concentrate on drawing and writing at the same time, hence lots of art lately and no words...wish I could multi task!



You don't need to wrestle with words, when you can convey thoughts through visual images. When done well, as this one is, the impact can be even more powerful and varied than poetry to me.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - E T A - - - - - - - - - - - -

What I'm getting at is like the smile on the Mona Lisa, even more pronounced than what can usually be captured in photography. The real art in photography is capturing moments that really speak to us, like the prize winning "Afghan Girl" (in National Geographic). On a more humorous note I once saw a "homeless" photo, set in a subway station, of a man with his dog and cat. The man and the dog were holding out their collection cups with pleading looks, but the cat was prostrate with its cup 


Unlike photography, an artist like yourself can create images that speak to us


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## Abby (Nov 3, 2014)

Thank you Lee


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## joshybo (Nov 3, 2014)

Beautiful work.  You appear to be incredibly talented, and I don't even really like cats :-D. Thank you for sharing.


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## Abby (Nov 3, 2014)

thank you Joshy


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## Skodt (Nov 3, 2014)

You know what you have that writers don't? People willing to stop for a second and take in your work. Writers long for an audience, but you can convey a thought with only a moments glance. What I love about your pieces, it takes no effort from me. To read a story I must involve myself and consider the elements. To understand your pictures, it takes me a moment, but the end result is the same; which is a feeling of aww and wonder. Really talented work.


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## Abby (Nov 5, 2014)

AW thanks Skodt, that's a really nice thing to say  Drawing is a lot easier than writing, mainly because you can see the complete idea before you start. With writing I always start well then hit a dead end when the ideas run out!


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## TKent (Nov 10, 2014)

I don't even know how this is possible??? This is crazy good.


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## W.Goepner (Dec 29, 2014)

I have often conveyed that, writing is painting with words. I also believe that a picture paints a thousand words. Those words come out in the viewers mind where the writer draws the picture in verse. Your pictures are better than my verse.


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## Abby (Jan 5, 2015)

Thanks  I just don't seem to be able to do both at the same time, I've been quite prolific with the art for a while now and haven't written a word.


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## W.Goepner (Jan 5, 2015)

Abby said:


> Thanks  I just don't seem to be able to do both at the same time, I've been quite prolific with the art for a while now and haven't written a word.



This may or may-not help. I am going to ask you a few questions to figure out your mind set when you do your artwork. 

1) What do you think about when you are doing one of your pieces?

2) Do you do your artwork by rote/memory or model?

3) If by rote/memory is there a story behind the idea?

4)Is the piece in front of you the sole focus of your mind? 

These questions are the same with writing. At least for me. When I work with a piece of wood, whether a walking stick or carving, I think of other things. The person who would like it, of the people I know. What would be the opinion of someone who sees the piece? Then there are times where I envision the opinion of a craftsman from a story I have read, or of a person from one of my stories. At these times I tend to visualize some of the personalities and characterization they have. Then when I work on the writing I remember that character, and integrate that personality and characterization into the story.

Like this cat here. If I were painting it I would have been thinking of a character from a book called "The Wild Road", its about cats. I would try to integrate it into that story or try to visualize what it is thinking as it is looking out a window at a bird or leaf wiggling in the breeze. I would try to give it a human personality, or an higher intelligence, like that of an alien trapped on earth. 

Sometimes art can inspire writing, to a point that writing is the only thing important. Sometimes it is the other way around. Either way I would not be concerned about your writing when you can do such beautiful art. If you truly desire to put your art into words, try doing just that. Take any one of your pieces and write what it is you see or thought about when you created it. I am sure that you will have a piece of art that comes to life.


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## Abby (Jan 5, 2015)

Hmm, that's quite a tricky set of questions! Most of the art I've done lately has been commissioned by other people so not a lot of thought goes into the subject, or even the composition a lot of the time. When I'm drawing I tend to think hard about what I'm doing when I'm getting the initial drawing down, but after awhile I get 'into the zone' as it were, and my mind wanders all over the place. I think about relationships and ancient history, loves lost, regrets and mistakes, aspirations for the future, conversations I've had with friends...you name it really. I don't think I have ever daydreamed about the subject I'm drawing, it's more like the act of drawing becomes a therapeutic thing, I'm doing what comes naturally and my mind is free to wander. I never do that with writing. With writing I'm 100% involved in the process and don't think about anything else whilst I'm doing it,  unless I'm writing poetry and I'm in a bad place emotionally...then it floods out and I barely have time to think about it before its on the page, then I go back and sort out rhythms and rhymes etc. There is definitely a writer in me though, I think of myself as a writer as much as I am an artist. Right now I'm in a drawing phase and it will probably last until I feel the need to write, I think I'm fine with that though


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