Sunday, October 30, 2011

Untitled 175


Pastel on UArt, approx. 5" x 6.5".
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In India.


More art on my website: jalapfaff.com

Friday, October 28, 2011

Untitled 174


Pastel on UArt, approx. 5" x 6".
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Fennec looooves Mojito. 

But then, Fennec loves everybody. He's just that kind of guy.



Below: The Jazzy Man, about a year ago. I miss you, Jazzy Wazzy.
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Found abstract, on the sidewalk.


More art on my website: jalapfaff.com

Wednesday, October 26, 2011

Untitled 173


Pastel on UArt, approx. 5" x 6".
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Things still suck here (but I am taking the good advice many of you had, though I may not write about the specifics here), but this guy makes me smile: here's Moji at Coot Lake a couple of weeks ago. I can't believe this photo came out--I had a very enthusiastic wet dog barreling at me full-speed, and a was doing a one-handed photo with an iPhone that doesn't have a very good camera to begin with.

Moji loves fetching in water more than anything in the world.

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We have had the most beautiful weather imaginable for almost two months. 

Still in shock over waking up to this today. Big branches are breaking all over town (including on our deck) due to the sudden heavy snow (first snow of the season, and it is a huge one!). It went from 80 degrees a couple of days ago and will be only 15 F tonight. Boulder never does anything halfway.


And there really is only one good way to deal with it:



More art on my website: jalapfaff.com

Tuesday, October 25, 2011

Untitled 172 (Key Lime Pie)


Pastel on UArt, approx. 5" x 6".
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Things are still bad, as you can imagine. But...(cue dramatic music) the blog must go on! 

Oddly enough, I'm super creative in the studio right now. I have such a backlog of pastels now to post, I'm set for a long time. It's funny, I mentioned it to my acupuncturist when he asked about my creative energies at the moment, and he laughed and said another client of his who is also an artist, during the divorce process was also ultra-creative, but then once his life settled down again, his creative energy really waned. I told him he shouldn't have told me that. My take is, all the current riled-up energy is finding focus once a day, which is great.

I'm always amazed at how my blogger artist friends out there rally when any amongst us is having a tough time in their life. Thank you all. It is really helpful, all the emotional support.
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(Below) This is looking down at the floor in the kitchen while trying to cook. This is often the scene. It's hard not to step on him sometimes. He is such a total goof. He's also the only kitty I've ever had who finds the bustle of feet in the kitchen a great place to lie down, sprawl, and roll around.
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Random photo I took with my phone in the spring on the Pearl St. Mall. When I first moved to Boulder, I hung out there all the time. Now I rarely go, in fact kind of avoid it. It's just "where the tourists go" to me now.


More art on my website: jalapfaff.com

Thursday, October 20, 2011

Untitled 171 ... and de-lurkage!


Pastel on UArt, approx. 5.5" x 6".

I never tire of color. Sometimes bold, other times subtle, as here. Pastels are such an ideal medium when one is as obsessed with color as I am--they're so pure and so immediate.

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I've decided it's time for a de-lurkage! It's been quite a while since we last had one here. Like spring cleaning, it's time to reveal the dust bunnies (aka lurking readers). (After de-lurking, all you lurkers are then allowed to go right back to being lurkers again, no problem.) 

This is merely for my own amusement and a little ego boost. I've not been getting many comments lately (or managing to respond consistently to them when I do), and so much difficult stuff is going on in my life that it's the perfect time for me to know that in fact people are out there and looking at my art and reading and checking in on my animolecules.

So, if you are a lurker and feel brave, please temporarily de-lurk, if only for this single post and solely for my amusement! Cheers.
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It's a difficult life, being a kitten in this household.


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In Hyderabad, India.


More art on my website: jalapfaff.com

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Untitled 170


Pastel on UArt, approx. 6" x 10".  Sold.

I think this is the largest of all the pastels (in this style) I've ever done.
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Some days gravity is particularly strong.


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In India.

More art on my website: jalapfaff.com

Sunday, October 16, 2011

Untitled 169


Pastel on UArt, approx. 3"x 5".
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Two cuddle, one daydreams.



I never get tired of seeing those two pairs of ears--pink and brown--together.


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In India.


More art on my website: jalapfaff.com

Saturday, October 15, 2011

Untitled 168


Pastel on UArt, approx. 4" x 5".
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Look how big Fennec's gotten (pic below)! I think he probably outweighs Gadjo now. Gadjo is now one year old and Fennec is...I don't remember...6 or 7 months, maybe, and is definitely going to be a big boy. 

Gadjo has turned out to be one of those long, lean, lithe (but overall not very big) Siamese I've seen before (but never had one). When I pick him up he feels almost weightless, like he's build from little bird bones. He likes to be held balanced along one of my forearms/hand, and folds his long slim legs up in a complicated origami, which always makes me laugh.

What beautiful, amazing creatures they are. Not a day goes by without me being utterly in love with cats.

By the way, it's been a while since I mentioned the possibility of Gadjo having FHS (Feline Hyperesthesia Syndrome). For a few months there, it seemed he was symptom-free and I had stopped holding my breath and thought perhaps he had escaped the disorder after all. But out of the blue, he had some bad episodes a few weeks ago. Just as I was about to give up and try some meds on him, his episodes began diminishing again and now they are almost nil. He does seem to be a high-strung cat, certainly the most nervous and hyperaware one I've ever had--traits of many Oriental breeds, apparently. In a way, FHS is kind of a magnification of those traits. 

My guess right now is that he does have the disease, but if we are very lucky perhaps he won't have a severe case. If it ever gets bad enough, I will try him on meds, but it would be great if we didn't have to. What worries me most is it usually doesn't develop until a cat is one or two years old or more, and little Gadjo showed symptoms before even turning a year, which makes me fear an especially severe case. My poor darling. I'm just happy when I see he's having a day with no or few symptoms.


Fennec, on the other hand, is your classic laid-back big orange guy. My vet says there is a real tendency for male orange cats to be especially mellow and sweet and easygoing. Fennec certainly seems to be headed to fulfill that destiny. 

I'd only ever had two male orange cats before, two brothers that were not at all laid-back or mellow, but I suspect they were somewhat feral when we got them, and we ended up not keeping them, giving them to a friend (of course we had too many cats anyway [!]), as they were very alpha and had been causing problems with the rest of our cats as they grew up. I had named them Uno and Dos, and unfortunately Uno disappeared from my friend's one night, but Dos is still there and very much cherished.


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At the weavers' cooperative, Hyderabad, India.


More art on my website: jalapfaff.com

Wednesday, October 12, 2011

Untitled 167


Pastel on PastelMat, approx. 4" x 6".

This one also is very new, and was sold during Open Studios. Thanks, Boulder peeps, for supporting your local artists!
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Gadjo gives Lynxie a thorough chin bath:


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I had just washed these little tomatoes and was about to eat them when I realized they look like a little Chihuly installation. Had to go get the camera.


I can eat them now.




More art on my website: jalapfaff.com

Sunday, October 9, 2011

Untitled 166


This pastel got sold yesterday. It's a very new one, and a bit larger--about 6" x 10".
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Today will be the last day of Open Studios 2011. I'm sooo tired! but it's been good.

The coolest thing that's happened this weekend? A woman bought two of my pieces and they will be hanging in the same house as some original Wolf Kahns! 
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In the state of Bihar, India. You have to try to imagine this scene with its multitude of ravenous mosquitos and accompanying climate: temp in the 80s or 90s, and humidity of about 100%. Ugh. We gringos are not made for the tropics (case in point: Fitzcarraldo).


More art on my website: jalapfaff.com

Thursday, October 6, 2011

Untitled 165


Pastel on UArt, approx. 4" x 6".
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The bath...




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At the weavers' cooperative, Hyderabad, India.


More art on my website: jalapfaff.com

Monday, October 3, 2011

Untitled 164


Pastel on UArt, approx. 3.5" x 4".

I really like this one. It feels somewhat Diebenkorn-ish to me.
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The first weekend of Open Studios went very well, though I haven't even remotely recovered from it yet. Good thing there's several days to recuperate before the next weekend. Thanks, all you Boulder peeps who've already come to visit the studio!
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Thank god for cats. I wouldn't make it through life if I didn't have them to make me laugh.

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In India. 


More art on my website: jalapfaff.com