Watercolors by Mimi Torchia Boothby » cats

How does a cat smile?

admin — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 14:10:29 +0000

There are two kinds of animals who chose to live with human beings for companionship. The domestic cat is one of them. How well we get along with each other is partially measured by how well we learn each other’s language. This little kitty is air kneading, to show his pleasure. His eyes are also half-closed, which means he is really relaxed and happy. I’ll bet he’s purring too. Everyone has had a tuxedo cat. I had one named Figaro before I was born!
Thanks for the Reference Photo, Jeannie! This painting has already sold..

Enza Waits

admin — Thu, 24 Jun 2010 23:28:33 +0000

Everyone deserves to have at least one pet that stands out from all the rest; maybe it’s that they’re beautiful, maybe they have personality, maybe it’s because they are just a member of your family that you really cherish. Enza is that cat. Born out in our back yard during a very dry spring, we first discovered her as one of a litter of kittens running to escape our neighbor’s lawnmower, as he tardily tended to his tall grass. Weeks later, I finally trapped the whole litter and the mother cat; they were all completely wild. We neutered the mom and let her go, but the kittens we socialized with lots of TLC and patience; it was a rare summer, both my sons were around, and they both contributed to the effort. When the kittens were all tame, I was to give them to the no kill shelter who sponsored them. But giving up all four of them was very traumatic. Enza chose me, and I brought her back home. Enza went from being a completely wild animal to the family manipulator. She invents routines to get our attention, she does tricks while guests giggle, she launches herself between us in the middle of the bed, something she started doing when she was so small we feared for her safety. The feral cat spay and neuter project uses art for a fund raiser. They have a little lobby where the walls are covered with paintings. The more you donate, the nicer a painting you may choose. This painting was made for that purpose. It is fitting that Enza’s largess extends to her extended family of feral kitties all over the Seattle area.

Aggie’s boyfriend

admin — Sun, 20 Jun 2010 13:29:29 +0000

Aggie is a former feral cat and even though she was neutered at an early age, she has her preferences. She likes this big black boy cat a lot better than any of the cats she lives with. He’s neutered too, I took him to the veterinarian myself. I took him and his twin brother hoping to get a two in one deal, but it was worst than I expected, one of them had an undescended testicle so it cost a lot more than I expected. Aggie clearly only likes one of them, the other stays closer to home, 3 houses down from our house. She’s gotten to the point that she doesn’t like to stay inside at night because the boys are outside playing. It’s either put up with her howling and galloping around the house all night, or let her out and sleep in peace They know we don’t approve of their relationship and what’s so funny you can see it in their faces.

Postmarked 2010

mimitorchia — Sat, 09 Jan 2010 15:33:01 +0000

Just for fun I entered a painted envelope in this fundraiser
YOU CAN PLAY TOO! read on below

Postmarked 2010 is an annual fundraiser forCall for Mail Art Submissions
Postmarked 2010 6th Annual International Mail Art Exhibition
and Silent Auction Fundraiser
Exhibit: March 5-14, 2010

Requesting your original mail art for display and sale to raise funds for The Claremont Forum’s Prison Library Project, which sends thousands of books free to inmates throughout the country. Hundreds of volunteers package books (donated to the Project by our local community), which are then mailed in response to inmate letters requesting reading material while incarcerated. For many years, The Claremont Forum received these requests in hand-illustrated envelopes created by the prisoners who sent them. It is in this tradition that we present POSTMARKED as our very appropriate fundraiser. Please join us for this international event!

Please send submissions of mail art of any size and medium to:

Postmarked 2010
Prison Library Project
112 Harvard #303
Claremont CA 91711

Entries must be postmarked by March 1, 2010

**** ONLY the side with the official USPS Postmark/barcode will be displayed*** Your mail art may be painted, stamped, collaged, printed, and/or otherwise decorated or constructed. It may be any shape and size that will go through the mail and receive an official postmark. It may get worn or torn through the mail, but the handling process is an important part of the theme. Only the side with the postmark can be displayed, due to space limitations, but the art doesn’t have to be limited to that side. You may include any message inside the envelope, which will be opened only by the person who purchases the art envelope. All entries will be displayed online at the official postmarked blog below. You may submit more than one piece… and begin sending now!

To learn more about Postmarked 2010, please visit
www.postmarked2010.blogspot.com

I Gatti Randagi – Alley Cats

admin — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 02:36:00 +0000

One of the pleasures of being in Italy for me is getting to know their cat populations. I think you can learn a lot about a town by the condition of their cats. Towns with lots of healthy cats seem friendlier to me. Although Italian cats are usually smaller than our cats, don’t eat as well or live as long, this trio, although clearly feral, were bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, well taken care of. When I walked into their secret courtyard, where they had been basking in the sun, they were all on the alert, ready to flee, but lucky for them, I just wanted to get a look at them, and after a quick snapshot, left them peacefully. This is a painting of a little courtyard in Sersale, Calabria.