A True Flapper

My grandmother was the archetypal 1920's flapper. Born in 1903, she was at just that age when the 20's came roaring in. Ardently sought after by men, she was a dark-haired, mysterious beauty with finger curls and loads of style. Maybe a little wild (or, at least, what might have been considered wild for the time.)



By the time I knew her she was a quiet, gentle lady who wore Endora-from-Bewitched-style caftans with huge, chunky costume jewelry. She and my uncle, Jim, would throw lavish parties that would pack the house and everybody who was anybody was in attendance. She enjoyed those parties but, more than anything, else she loved to read. Not surprisingly, F. Scott Fitzgerald was her favorite author. My oldest brother was even named for him and he was always her pet. I didn't get to know her for very long. She died when I was just five years old, but I've never forgotten her style or her understated brand of elegance or her gentility. To this day, she still influences me.

Harlequin Kitty

It's true that I'm a bona fide, dyed-in-the-wool cat lover bordering on crazy cat lady. That's why when a friend suggested the notion of a cat dressed as a jester or harlequin, I couldn't resist the idea. It burned in my brain until the next morning when I broke down and started on it. I knew it was going to be a daunting design and, honestly, I wasn't sure my talents were up to the challenge. At this point I have to confess this kitty was strongly influenced by the wonderfully whimsical cats created by the great and glorious Edward Gorey.


I did a basic outline in my Corel painter program with the thick and thin pencil tool starting with the cat's face. It was love at first sight. After that my infatuation with this smiling kitty drove me on. After the basic sketch was done, I began coloring in with the the tapered gouache brush. I like this brush and use it quite a bit because I find it fills better than some of the others and is easier to control. Anyway, on I went filling in each little diamond on his costume by hand. When the painting was finished, I sent it to my PSP program for the tedious task of cleaning up the edges. I then copied the image and added it to a background I had created using some of the stock Paint Shop patterns. At the end my eyes were red and bleary and my back was aching, but I think he was worth the pain. He's now happily dancing on several products in my Zazzle store.

Yet another cat creation

Obviously, cats are one of my favorite subjects - especially my own cats. This was done from one of my favorite photos of our kitty, Olivia. In the Corel Painter 4, I used the match palette effect from a Matisse painting, then auto painted it using the impressionist brush. I then went back in and used the soft edge cloner to sharpen her face. (And it's such a good face.) This is the resulting image. I'll be adding it to some Zazzle products within the next few days.

This time I did a cat with flowers.

Last night when I sat down to do a design I told myself I was going to do something other than a floral. I was halfway through this cat design before I realized it was flowers again! Oh, well. I really liked the way it turned out anyway, so I added to a number of my cat lovers products. My percentage of all sales from the cat lovers section will be donated to animal charities.

Our neighborhood lost a sweet freeloader of a kitty this week. I made this card in her memory. The paw prints are hers.

Animal Adoption Products

Animal rescue is a cause that is very near to my heart, so today I created a few products to (hopefully) encourage others to adopt animals who need homes the most.