Thursday, August 12, 2010

Life drawing...and a studio incident


Life drawing class the other night went well. It will be continuing for a few more weeks, which is great, though I'm not sure I'll be here for all of them (may be going to India again at some point soon, for the business).

The timing of the next drawings was, respectively: 20 minutes, 45 minutes, 20 minutes. The last one is my favorite.




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So there was a little studio incident the other night... When I woke up I heard some frantic meowing. I couldn't figure out where it was coming from, and then it stopped, so I shrugged and went about my morning. Then it started up again. Was it coming from outside? I looked behind the house, looked in front of the house. Then, quiet for a while. Then, more meowing. Finally, I happened to walk past the (glass) studio door (which connects the house and studio) and saw a stripey little Lynx face peering at me anxiously and meowing insistently. Apparently, Lynx got trapped in the studio sometime during the night. I'm guessing I hadn't latched the door well and he went in and then when he tried to come back out, he probably stood on his hind legs and pressed against the door and it latched shut. (They're always standing like that looking in when I'm in the studio.) Lynx was very grateful to be rescued (he's a cat who's very nervous about new situations) and got quiet for a while, but then started meowing again, which was odd, because he rarely uses his voice.

So an hour or two goes by and I realize I haven't seen The Midget (sorry, but that's one of Rumi's nicknames...I'm embarrassed...okay, some of his other nicknames, as long as I'm embarrassing myself, are: MonkeyPie, Pink Cadillac, GhostPuppy, The Prince, WhiteChild, Mr.Pink, Tiny-ness, and Midgetino) all morning. So I go look in all his favorite sleeping places around the house: papasan chairs, kitchen cupboards, on top of my computer bag...nada. Strange. And he couldn't be in the studio, because I'd already been in there, and he would've heard me and wanted out, like Lynx.

It actually took a few minutes for the fact to register: Oh. Rumi's deaf. He wouldn't have heard me. Back I go into the studio, searching everywhere for a non-frantic kitty (no meows, no sad face at the window)...and finally find him, curled up happily sound asleep inside a box of framed pastels covered with brown paper in a corner.

Needless to say, there were some painting casualties in the studio. And I didn't notice this until later in the evening:



Nearly impossible to get these shots, as Rumi loves both people and the camera, so it was very hard to get behind him; he kept turning around instantly while I ran around the table like a maniac.



Well, I've always thought he looks like a blank canvas with a lot of potential...


More art on my website: jalapfaff.com

7 comments:

Sheila Vaughan said...

Life drawings - great mood in them Jala. I like the extra feeling that comes with that little bit of extra time. As to Rumi - well he is just jealous of you having so much fun in that studio. What a naughty boy with his new blue boots!

loriann signori said...

Funny story Jala. I am always amazed how the cats look out for one another, tell on one another, and just plain have fun. They are not much different than us. Rumi has show by his new color, he's very similar to his human.
Nice drawings, the last one is my favorite too.
PS a much loved cat has many names...as it should be;-)

Caroline Peña Bray said...

I love these drawings, they show a real understanding of light, shadow and lin. Excellent! And I love the cat story! Brilliant...!

Double "D" said...

Jala, great life drawings. I like the first one especially for the position and pose. It has a finished yet incomplete feel. It would seem to belong in untitled 21. When I first looked at 21 it appeared to be a mysterious figures. Beautiful piece.

SamArtDog said...

Yup, really nice drawings. However, I've gotta give it to you for the Stupid Cat Tricks. Poor sensitive Lynxie, but, swear, the Rumor is an absolute thug!

Jala Pfaff said...

Hi Sheila - Thanks. I really wish I could have my cats in the studio with me...it would be so nice...but it would be a disaster.

Hi Loriann - OK, let's hear some of your silly cat nicknames now...

Caroline - Thank you. And Rumi says hi, blue feet and all.

SKIZO - Thank you very much.

DD - The first one was my second favorite. "Dancing at DD's...Down at the Double D." (Zachary Richard.)

Sam - We need to do a dog walk if it ever freakin' cools down out there! The Rumor...I like that. Like he's not even quite real, just a rumor. He's a very adorable thug.

eLIZabeth Floyd said...

great drawings, I like how you used toned paper and rubbed out the highlights.

Poor kitties, I hope they are clean of all pigments and your paintings did not suffer much from their visit.