Tigger and Sydney in colourful cat portraits.

Colourful memorial cat portraits of Tigger and Sydney.

Tigger and Sydney were painted on wood slices for the client who wanted to gift them to her parents at Christmas. She requested portraits for herself in 2020. (FIRST PUBLISHED IN FEBRUARY 2020).

Tigger and Sydney’s owner pretty much gave me carte blanche to paint the cats whichever way I desired. A wonderful assignment indeed!

Tigger’s portrait (on the right) captures his sweet face showing he wants your undivided attention. He appears to be staring intently at the viewer wishing for a scratch behind the ears or most likely, a morsel of your food.

In contrast, Sydney (on the left) with her shy ways seems more aloof. She will come to you on her own terms and only once she has fully assessed you, which could take a very long time.

The client tells Tigger's story

Tigger was a very sociable cat.  He would follow me around the house and always sit by my side for company.

At times, I thought I should have named him Hungry because he always had a bottomless pit. Whenever I had food, he would try to steal it away from me. Once, when I was distracted, he managed to snatch my hamburger! When I turned around to look, he was slowly inching backwards with the patty in his mouth. He paused when I saw him, looked at me with this burger piece in his mouth, then continued slowly backing away. I let him have it.

Another time he got loose at the vet. It took awhile, but we found him at the front of the vet's office on the shelf between two bags of cat food. He'd been gnawing at one bag.

And now, all about Sydney...

On the other hand, Sydney was a quiet cat who preferred to be alone, except for when she wanted attention. Then she was very cuddly, purring loudly. She sensed when something was wrong, and then she'd jump up into my lap to comfort me.

Sydney didn’t have an ounce of courage in her and that is putting it kindly. As soon as something was different in the house, such as new furniture or new people, she would disappear.

My friends only realized three years later that I had a second cat because she would always hide whenever they visited me.

And Sydney could be very particular as well.

Cat toys were simply too mundane, too boring for her. It was beneath her to show an ounce of interest in any cat toy that I bought for her. However, plastic bags could be hours of fun as she tossed them around listening for the crinkling sound. Ribbons also were her favourite “toys”.

Colourful cat portraits of Tigger and Sydney: the details.

Both portraits were painted on 8 x 10 wood panels using Golden and Liquitex Professional acrylic paint. The sides are painted deep blue to match the colours in the portraits.

The client found me on Facebook where she searched for a local artist. Follow me on my Facebook artist page where I post my own work as well as the work of other creatives around the world. Read articles related to art which I also publish on this page.

For more information about pet portraits and pricing visit my Custom Pet Portraits Page. Or contact me with any questions or requests.

Audeamus, a favourite charitable organization...

I was introduced to Audeamus when I painted Nala, a most devoted companion to a Canadian war vet.

Audeamus and their important work helping sufferers of PTSD

Through Audeamus, a registered charitable organization, Dominique, a Canadian war vet who served in Bosnia,  and Nala, his service dog, have participated in specific training so that Nala can help Dominique when he is feeling anxious.

In all likelihood, no matter which organization provides the service dog, a Canadian vet will have to wait for possibly up to two years for his or her service dog.

Training the dogs takes time, and then matching the dog to the owner also adds to the wait.

The following information is provided from their website should you wish to donate and help more Canadian war vets partner with a service dog like Nala.

AUDEAMUS provides certified, specially trained service dogs and on going support to people suffering from mental or physical disabilities to relieve conditions associated with disability with a view to improving their independence as well as their physical and emotional well-being. Disabilities served include, but are not limited to, brain injured veterans, first responders and war correspondents.

AUDEAMUS, Latin for "MAY WE DARE", is a registered charity operating throughout Canada [Reg#: 762071298RR0001].

 

It is 100% volunteer and veteran-run and directed. We have minimal expenses, which ensures that donations made toward AUDEAMUS go directly to supporting our veterans, first responders, and war correspondents.