Washington Park, Denver, CO - six of six

29 September 2011
11" x 17", acrylic on paper

Washington Park, Denver, CO - five of six

28 September 2011
8" x 10", acrylic on paper

Washington Park, Denver, CO - four of six

27 September 2011
8" x 10", acrylic on paper

Washington Park, Denver, CO - three of six

22 September 2011
11" x 14", acrylic on paper

Washington Park, Denver, CO - two of six

21 September 2011
11" x 14", acrylic on paper

Washington Park, Denver, CO - one of six

20 September 2011
11" x 14", acrylic on paper

Back in September, on our way to Spain, the husband and I stopped in Denver, Colorado to visit friends.  We spent some time at the lovely Washington Park, which provided some painting reference material.

floral

13 August 2011
7" x 5", gouache and graphite on paper
gifted

15 August 2011
7" x 5", gouache and graphite on paper

15 August 2011
7" x 5", gouache and graphite on paper

15 August 2011
7" x 5", gouache and graphite on paper

17 August 2011
7" x 5", gouache and graphite on paper

17 August 2011
7" x 5", gouache and graphite on paper

21 August 2011
7" x 5", gouache and graphite on paper
gifted

21 August 2011
7" x 5", gouache and graphite on paper

22 August 2011
7" x 5", gouache and graphite on paper

22 August 2011
5" x 7", gouache and graphite on paper

26 August 2011
5" x 7", gouache and graphite on paper

26 August 2011
7" x 5", gouache and graphite on paper

nowhere in particular

19 August 2011
8" x 10", acrylic on paper

in memoriam

My husband and I lost our beloved cat-friend (and inspiration for this blog) a couple of days ago.  After a long cat-life, twenty-one years (about 100 in human years, maybe more), he finally gave up the good fight.  He was of course the best cat that ever lived, and, needless to say, we miss him terribly.

Mookie chose my husband those twenty-one years ago.  I came along much later.  As my husband tells it, it had been his then-girlfriend’s idea to get a kitten, and, after much persistence on her part, they found themselves at the local humane society.  There weren’t a lot of kittens there at the time and they were just about to leave when my husband thought he heard something moving amidst a pile of discarded carrier cases.  He stuck his hand in one and re-emerged with a tiny kitten latched on, tenaciously and ferociously attacking his hand with its tiny teeth and claws.

He went over to the humane society worker and said, “I’ll take this one.”

Mookie had apparently been overlooked.  All his brothers and sisters had been taken out of the carrier earlier that week and adopted out, and the carrier was in a pile waiting to be thrown out.

The humane society worker cautioned my husband that the kitten might not survive the week; he was so tiny, weak, and dehydrated.  My husband relates at first feeding him with a dropper before graduating quickly on to a food dish.

My husband, then a university student, found him stuck behind the stove one day, and worried that the little guy would get hurt left to his own devises in the apartment.  So my husband started bringing him to lectures, carrying him either in the hood or pocket of his hoodie.  His professors apparently didn’t mind.  He became known as the “cat-head” as his head, so large compared to his tiny body, would often be sticking out of my husband’s pocket.

My husband named Mookie after Mookie Blaylock, then a promising young NBA point guard.

Mookie saw my husband through various jobs, relationships, and moves, outlasting them all.  My husband has some great stories regaling Mookie’s various adventures (including a flying fan, the mean neighbor cat, how rats and cats should not be friends, the missing baby ferrets, and the purloined barbecued steak, amongst many others).  When I first started dating my husband, he tried to downplay their relationship, but he could only conceal this for a short time.  They both forgave me when I almost set Mookie on fire (he jumped up on a ledge to greet me, right over where a tea candle was burning).

I had the privilege and pleasure of being part of Mookie’s life for these seven years.

Many thanks to the staff at Northwest Neighborhood Veterinary Hospital.  They’ve taken such great care of our cat-friend over the years.

Park Blocks - four of four

1 September 2011
8" x 10", acrylic on paper

Virtual Paintout submission

12 October 2011
8" x 10", acrylic on paper

I just e-mailed this to Bill Guffey for his October Virtual Paintout, this month in Sardinia.  Click <here> to see the Google Streetview reference.

Park Blocks - three of four

4 August 2011
8" x 10", acrylic on paper

I'd painted views of the Park Blocks last summer, as well, posted 26 July 2010 and 28 July 2010.

Park Blocks - two of four

3 August 2011
8" x 10", acrylic on paper

Park Blocks (Portland) - one of four

2 August 2011
8" x 10", acrylic on paper

a family portrait

30 September 2011
8" x 10", gouache on paper

summer in Washington Park - nine of nine

18 August 2011
8" x 10", acrylic on paper

Here's the last of the "summer in Washington Park" series, and the very last of even a memory of summer here in Portland...  back to rain and chill.

summer in Washington Park - eight of nine

12 August 2011
8" x 10", acrylic on paper

I painted a couple of other versions of this view (though in early spring rather than summer) a year and a half ago, posted 4 April 2010 and 26 April 2010.  As both Heraclitus and one of my favorite high school teachers once said, the only constant is change...

summer in Washington Park - seven of nine

11 August 2011
8" x 10", acrylic on paper

summer in Washington Park - six of nine

9 August 2011
8" x 10", acrylic on paper