Category: Animals

“Deejay” – a life saver

Deejay – a gentle Shepherd is no longer on planet earth but she sure is in heaven.

This beautiful dog saved a child’s life some years ago when she herself was only three.   She saw her two-year old charge, Adam, wander down to the farm dam (small lake) before his family realised he was missing.   They frantically searched for him looking in all the most dangerous places as on a farm there are so many places a child can get lost and hurt.   At least 45 minutes had passed when someone noticed frantic activity in the distance in the dam and raced down to see.   Deejay had Adam’s arm in her mouth and was pulling him out of the deep water and onto land.

A mischievous toddler – and unaware of his peril, Adam was determined to do what he wanted but he couldn’t swim and she sensed that – despite his protestations she succeeded in dragging him out of the water unharmed.   No sooner was he free of her firm mouth-grip and he raced back to the water but back she went and pulled him back again.

What the family originally thought was Deejay harming Adam turned out to be a remarkable animal’s innate sense of responsibility and care for those she loved.

Adam is an adult now and knows how to swim.

Deejay – another exquisite animal who shared her life with humans –  for a brief moment she came to earth, wove her special magic and then in a twinkle of starlight she was gone.

But……..only for a while until we catch her up – then tears stop and laughter begins forever.

 

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Five-minute “Molly” – study in monochrome

Molly is my youngest cat – the mischievous teenager and a ball of energy and destruction.

She is also Ed’s taunter and how he puts up with her, Lord only knows!   Ed is my big Maine Coon and easily two and a half times her size.   She’s forever ambushing him and using him as a hurdle or as target practice.   Somehow he puts up with her just fine – none of the other cats would though.

Anyway – this is a quick sketch using only white pastel on black paper capturing her in an unusually quiet pose.   She is basically grey and cream striped with a hint of apricot sprinkled in the cream.

I’m not sure whether to leave it as a study or develop further.   If I do develop it further I’ll add in a little brightly coloured toy fish under her right paw.   It will break the monochromatic theme and add a spot of vibrancy.

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Big Bushy “Bear” – study in black

Bear was a loner when he came into my life.   Formerly belonging to a couple who could no longer care for him the way he needed to be looked after as he is quite a senior citizen now, when common sense decreed he needed to be re-homed, it was me who won the prize.

He is now around 20 something years of age, yet remains agile and active, has a beautiful glossy black coat and a great appetite which maintains his solid weight around 7kgs – which for an old cat is just amazing.  He’s also the most vocal of all my fur babies and often sounds like a cross between a parrot and a dog when racing around the house – the weirdest thing!   It cracks everyone up when he does it – no one believes he’s the age he is.

I’ve done a number of studies of Bear because he’s so black and detail is so hard to capture – I keep looking for that magic formula.   His bright yellow eyes glowing out of his round chubby face are the only way I can tell front from back at a distance and even close up sometimes.   But in the sunlight – what first seems like an amorphous mass of black fur is in fact a rich mahogany undercoat with platinum highlights defining his proud shape with a rich depth of colour.

I will do a proper portrait of Bear one day but this was a lot of fun just playing around with sunlight and shadow and introducing Bear’s toy mouse for a bit of additional interest.

Footnote:

17 March 2020, 4.45pm   My darling Bear was put to sleep.   My heart is broken.   He was about 25 years old which is a great old age for a cat but his time suddenly had come, his health was failing quickly and he was not strong enough to endure any treatment that would have maybe only added a few days to his already long life.   There would have been no quality of existence for him.    He now has a special shaded resting place in my garden where I pass every day and remember him.   Planted on his grave is a  yellow flowering Clivia to honour the colour of his gorgeous eyes – I look forward to seeing those blooms in Spring.

 

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Golden Velvet – “Rory” in evening light.

Rory belongs to my brother-in-law Eric and the two make a very close pair.   I’m  not sure if it is Eric that takes Rory to the park for exercise or Rory takes Eric – no matter.   Together they prove that a dog’s best friend is man…..or woman…..or child.    Dogs already know they are great friends for humans.

Rory is quite a deep brown colour typical of the doberman breed but this image was captured late in the day as the evening atmosphere deepened to gold and orange and cast long shadows all around.   Dark brown Rory on a dark brown leather couch became a bit invisible so to enhance his cheeky face and lean musculature the hue was brightened to capture the details.

This is an ‘artsy’ piece purely done for the love of using basically only two colours – yellow and purple on a dark ground.   Just a splash of deep sienna for the reddish bits and white for the teeth and collar and we’re done!

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“Edmund” – Maine Coon

Edmund (Ed or Eddie) the Maine Coon is really a German Shepherd in disguise.

Massive build, powerful presence and with marvellous, rich colouring, he is to the cat world what the Shepherd is to the dog world.   A magnificent, intelligent and super-aware animal and quite the king of his realm.

At 10kg he’s naturally no feather and yet his gentle nature and ability to sense when things aren’t right with me or I’m stressed is simply amazing.   A soft paw on my arm taking me completely by surprise or his big face peering into my eyes as I wake in the morning after a restless night is gentleness akin to the brush of a feather.

Big and robust in size, he’s the most patient and tolerant of all my cats and puts up with my kitten Molly giving him the hardest of times.   She can be frankly annoying as she pesters him, tussles with him, ambushes him, uses him as a high jump.    All the while he puts up with her and in so doing, leaves her in no doubt that while she thinks she’s in control, he is absolutely her hero.

He was the first of  my cats to be painted because he is also the first member to arrive of my current cat family – the others all came after he did.   Plus, he’s also the most devoted.

Edmund – the cat you have when you can’t have a dog!

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“Jack and Harry” – darling dogs

Jack and Harry – Jack on the left and Harry on the right – are famous.   More famous than even they know.   Their portrait has made the local paper and if a quiet introspective life was what they were pitching for – their new found fame will end that.

Jack and Harry belong to Liz – a wonderful energetic lady who has recently moved into the area.   Liz is often seen walking these two for kilometers upon kilometers and then enjoying a cup of coffee and a snack at the local Flame Tree Cafe while the dogs lap up refreshing water from a bowl provided for them.   Because they are so cute and such a part of the fabric of our community now as everyone seems to  know them and their owner – this painting was a no-brainer.

I’m not sure of their breeds – but those of you who have similar will know.   I will definitely ask Liz though and update this post.

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German Shepherd “Cody” and her best friend Jay

Cody was a beautiful German Shepherd I was fortunate to meet one day during our long very hot summer this 2017 year.   With days over 40 degrees celsius every day for over two weeks during January, her owner Samantha our admin lady, brought her into the office at our pleading so she could enjoy air-conditioned comfort.   Sadly less than two weeks later she was dead due to a twisted bowel and with her advancing years and poor outcome even with surgery – she left our lives.

We all felt terribly ripped off as she was such a joy and I offered to paint a portrait of her for the owner.   She sent me two photos by email.   One of the regal Cody resting on the lawn and the other of her eldest son Jay (Cody’s best friend) embracing her.

Naturally I love animals and children together so the decision was easy.

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Staffordshire Bull Terrier “Quinn”

Quinn is a blue Staffy.   He was so called because he is the quintessential Staffy.

Staffy’s are one of the most popular dog breeds in Australia comprising two versions – the English Staffy and the American Staffy and Quinn is an English Staffy – shorter legged, more chunky and compact and one of the ‘smiling’ dog breeds, although Quinn is portrayed as the more serious regal dog he so deserves to be.   I thought I’d add in the flag just so no confusion reigned over his country of origin.   I will be painting an American Staffy commission soon and once posted it will be easy to see the differences.

Staffys come in all colours including brindle and pied.   They are great family dogs, happy, joyful and playful.   When you’ve owned a Staffy you know your heart has been stolen!

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“Gus” Gustave Augustus – the First

Silver-tipped Chinchilla, Gustave Augustus the First is a very long-winded name for a beautiful ball of fluffy white nylon.   I just call him Gus.

Fluffy white nylon is exactly what he becomes when his coat is fully grown – complete with lots of knots.   With our sub-tropical climate this is totally impractical and he gets clipped at the start of every summer.   He’s actually very slender then and looks delightfully funny with a very narrow small body and a full tail, fluffy boots and a wide semi-mane around his face – it’s a clip called the Lion Clip.   The painting shows him with his coat half-grown back.

Gus was born for no other reason than to be beautiful, because he doesn’t do much else.   Eats and sleeps – that’s it!   He’s not fond of cuddles so picking him up for a hug is a waste of time – he just squirms frantically to break free.

However – I love beautiful things anyway and with his sweet nature he has a well deserved place in my heart.

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Doberman Pinscher “Rory”

The love of my Brother-In-Law Eric – apart from my sister to whom he is married – is his dog!

Rory is a beautiful, slightly crazy, full of life, engaging, Doberman Pinscher.   My sister Trudi asked me to portray him in a painting but because it was intended to be a surprise for Eric’s birthday in September I was unable to post it until now.

She was able to send me some photos he had on his computer without him knowing.   None were really good enough for what I needed and I had to sneak a photo when I was visiting with them earlier in the year.   Taken through a glass door without Rory knowing or he would have bounded up to meet me and with poor light, this was the resulting painting – I’ve had to add detail in where there was none in the photo.   I hope Eric will like it.

I include another painting of Rory – he appears as “Golden Velvet” in another post because of the low evening light on the couch where he was resting giving a rich velvety affect.   This too was not a particularly clear image but the result is quite dramatic.   What do you think?

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