Untitled 199

Pastel on UArt, approx. 4" x 5".

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I like Gadjo's perturbed look here, as Fennec decides to take up more space.

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Found abstract. At the weavers', Hyderabad, India.

$115.00 - Untitled 199 (Ready to Frame)

More art on my website: jalapfaff.com

Untitled 198 and art show at Trident Cafe

Pastel on UArt, approx. 4" x 5.5".

"It took me four years to paint like Raphael, but a lifetime to paint like a child."
--Picasso

I just hung a show at the Trident Cafe here in Boulder. Please stop in and check it out if you're downtown (Pearl and 9th). Now through Jan.17.

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 This cracks me up--Gadjo and Fennec were wrestling half a second before this moment of sudden relative stillness.

Fennec's papasan lookout (spying on Miss Lemon).

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In India. Tired driver.

$115.00 - Untitled 198 (Ready to Frame)

More art on my website: jalapfaff.com

Untitled 197

Pastel on UArt, approx. 5" x 6".

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Still haven't found a new place to live or do art. Still looking.
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I adore Fennec's sleeping positions. I also love his unapologetic laziness.

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In Bihar, India.

$115.00 - Untitled 197 (Ready to Frame)

More art on my website: jalapfaff.com

Untitled 196

Pastel on UArt, approx. 5" x 6".

I framed up some of my recent pastels for another upcoming show. Here are some of them. Each is in an 11" x 14" frame:

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 View out the back door a couple of days ago. A little blizzard, we got.

I still haven't dug the car out, actually.

The life raft has become a bit overfull. Someone will end up hanging off the edge...

Happy Festivus.

$115.00 - Untitled 196 (Ready to Frame)

More art on my website: jalapfaff.com

Untitled 195

Pastel on UArt, approx. 5" x 6".

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Bursting at the seams: my studio (at least for however long it's still mine to work in).

Still haven't been able to find a new studio space. And when I do, I can't even imagine the process of trying to move everything--especially all the hundreds of unframed pastels pinned up on the walls.

In this photo, on the left you can see, pinned on the far back wall of the studio, about a fourth of my finished, unframed smaller-format Rothko-esque pastels. 

On the right, a couple of large oils in progress on the floor, and pinned up, some slightly larger, even more minimalist Rothko-esque pastels I've been doing lately (none posted yet). I think they're 9" x 12". When it's time to frame any of them, I'll probably need to get bigger frames than the current 11" x 14" frames I usually use; I think a bit more white mat around them would be better.

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Another lazy day on the green sofa.

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In Bihar, India.

$115.00 - Untitled 195 (Ready to Frame)

More art on my website: jalapfaff.com

Untitled 194

Pastel on UArt, approx. 3" x 5".

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In Bihar, India.

$115.00 - Untitled 194 (Ready to Frame)

More art on my website: jalapfaff.com

Untitled 193

Pastel on UArt, approx. 5" x 7".

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This divorce thing is hard, and painful. 

But here I still am. 

Thanks, everyone, for your continuing support, including emails and comments.

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Baby Lynxie, from the archives.

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In India.

$115.00 - Untitled 193 (Ready to Frame)

More art on my website: jalapfaff.com

Untitled 192

Pastel on UArt, approx. 4" x 5".

"Art is the elimination of the unnecessary." --Picasso. 

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In India.

$115.00 - Untitled 192 (Ready to Frame)

More art on my website: jalapfaff.com

Untitled 191

Pastel on UArt, approx. 5" x 6".

There's an ineffable quality, a mood, about this little painting...that I was unable to capture in the photograph.

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A great deal still remains to be sorted out in terms of the divorce...but if nothing changes, then I will probably be giving Miss Lemon and Lynx to The Husband, and trying to find a new home for beautiful Cleo (who is rarely featured in the blog, because she's rarely around and because she's hard to photograph since she's all black). I would keep cats Gadjo, Rumi, Fennec, and dog Mojito.

The beautiful black Cleo Bean.

If anyone knows anyone who could consider giving Cleo a loving new home, it would be wonderful. Cleo is beautiful, super smart, young (4? I can find out exactly if I dig up her original Humane Society records), perfectly healthy, and up to date on all vaccinations. She is not feral at all--she's friendly to people, and forms an amazing bond with her special person. [I feel horribly guilty about even considering giving her up. I know how much she loves and trusts me. :(] 

But our girl Cleo is a mostly-outdoors cat. She needs her freedom and independence, and a relatively traffic-free territory to patrol. She comes inside only to eat, to sleep on the coldest nights, and just to hang out, nap, or say hi every now and then. She loves to hang out in my studio while I paint, and is the only one of our cats who is allowed to do so, since she usually just curls up somewhere and doesn't mess with the painting supplies too much. One of her favorite activities is to help and supervise if you are gardening outdoors.

Cleo has always been fine with our dogs, but she doesn't like other cats. Hence the problem (and hence the reason you don't see her in photos like the ones below). When I move, whenever that is and to wherever that may be (so far, no luck in finding future places to live with the animolecules or to paint), I am not going to be able to keep her indoors in a small place with all the other cats for a long enough time that I would feel secure that she knew she now lived in a new house and new neighborhood. Her new home, ideally with no other cats, would have to be able to keep her indoors for a few weeks, and build trust and bond with her, before starting to let her out. She does use the litter box perfectly when indoors, and uses the great outdoors as a litter box as well. She puts on an amazingly thick, plush winter coat, and in summer she sheds that and is just a little sleek thing.

She's a wonderful girl, and she deserves a wonderful situation. Please ask around amongst the people you know and trust. Thank you.

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In Bihar, India.

$115.00 - Untitled 191 (Ready to Frame)

More art on my website: jalapfaff.com

Untitled 190

Pastel on UArt, approx. 4.5" x 5".

This is the counterpart to the previous one, Untitled 189. They're exactly the same size. They weren't meant to go together, but I did them one right after the other and then realized they should go together. I think they'd look great each framed in the same way, and hung in the same room on different walls. 

Here they both are:

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 Just what it looks like: Gadjo was just minding his own business and Miss Lemon decided she needed a foot warmer. Notice Gadjo's "annoyed ears."

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In India.

$230.00 - Untitled 189 and 190 (Ready to Frame)

More art on my website: jalapfaff.com

Untitled 189

Pastel on UArt, approx. 4.5" x 5".

This one and the next one I'm going to post (Untitleds 189 and 190) make a really nice pair. I'm going to be framing them and about seven others for my next show, which I will be hanging on Dec.28.

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I'm a little bit worried about Rumi. He had his annual checkup recently, and has lost 10% of his body weight--and he was already a very slim cat. It's strange, for a young and otherwise apparently healthy cat. The vet wants me to bring him in again in about 6 more weeks to reweigh him. He's a very hyperactive cat and I think maybe he just burns off more calories than he can hold onto. His symptoms sound like hyperthyroid, but usually only senior cats suffer from that; Rumi is still a spring chicken.

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In India.