Tuesday, September 14, 2010

Black Cat "Ebony"

 Ebony
Cats fascinate me. They are a completely contradictory creature.  Warm and affectionate, yet cool and disinterested,  shy and timid yet ferocious,  dependent  yet absolutely superior, the their only consistent characteristic is their inconsistency. The same animal can display all the  grace of a ballet dancer and the delicacy of a bull. A cat's purr can calm even the most troubled heart. They are, above all else, unpredictable, an endearing yet irritating quality.  If you have a cat as your friend, you will never be bored.  Annoyed, disgusted, entertained, enchanted and most of the time bewildered, but never bored.  Unfortunately I don't think a cat can say the same about us. We do bore them sometimes. With some pets, such as dogs, I wonder who it is that owns whom, but with cats there is no question...

Cats relate differently to us than dogs do.  A dog's person can do no wrong. Even when we make idiots of ourselves, to our dogs we are superior in every way. the most wonderful people in the world.  They will never admit to our imperfections,  But cats have no illusions. They know we are inferior in so many ways,  yet somehow they seem to love us anyway. But they never let us forget who or what we are.

This painting is part of a series entitled, "When I Look In Your Eyes," inspired by a song from the Dr. Doolittle musical.  I love the look in the eyes of this one,  serene, yet watchful.  You never know what they are thinking but you know their thoughts are deep.  The painting is in acrylic on stretched, wrapped canvas, all edges painted and no staples show so that it may be displayed with or without a frame. It is available through Daily Painters  and Art Helping Animals.

By the way, I am working on a companion piece to this painting. It will be called "Ivory." I will let you figure it out.

6 comments:

Lee said...

Beautiful!
Lee

martinealison said...

Belle expression... Splendide dessin.

Sniffles and Smiles said...

Oh, Della!!! Those eyes are simply incredible!!! Your talent ever inspires me...and I am always in awe!!! This cat is phenomenal...and I just love your description of the differences between cats and dogs!!! SO very true!!! Terrific!!! Just terrific!!! Love you! Janine XO

Vicki said...

Della, what a beautiful painting! Perfect painting to illustrate your point about the enigma that is a cat!
His/her expression is somewhere between: "You know that I am superior to you" and "Don't you feel sorry for me? I could use a bite of fish!"
I love it! ♥ Vicki

D said...

Della, love the painting as well as the cat and its habits. We no longer have one, but several years ago, Figaro, our neighbor's big Tom, chose our home as his "summer" place. ;)

I could sit for hours watching him, and he did rule. lol I would be kneeling, working in the garden and I knew when he was coming over: he would let out a little 'rrou', to which I would likewise respond, and he would dart toward me and lay down by my side. Great cat.

Unfortunately, we don't know where he is; since we had sitings of a bobcat and coyote... not sure what happened.

Sniffles and Smiles said...

Love you!!! XO