Untitled 54 (oil and cold wax)

Untitled 54.  Oil and cold wax on museum panel.  16" x 16".   Sold.

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Gadjo knows what color to sit on to match his eyes.

Gadjo and Rumi.

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Somewhere in my neighborhood.

More art on my website: jalapfaff.com

Basho

Oil and cold wax, 16" x 16." Sold.


Painted the second night we had Basho the beautiful kitten. His coloring (minus a wink of brilliant blue eyes) and the poet we named him for both contributed as inspiration for this painting, which features calligraphic marks perhaps evocative of Japanese poetry.

I want to thank you all so very much for your warm thoughts and consoling words. We are both terribly sad and wish he were still with us. It helps immensely, though, to have you all out there whose hearts are also touched by him and his story.

Both photos in this post are inspired by Basho's beautiful coloring.

We have now named two cats after Buddhists (Roshi and Basho) and they both died young. In a bittersweet, laughing-through-tears kind of way, I wonder if that was a mistake...perhaps Buddhists take this life just a little too lightly.

Our other kitties were unfortunately never allowed to meet Basho, as he was in isolation for his illness. But The Husband said that Rumi caught a glimpse one time and looked really excited about a potential new playmate. And I know how much Miss Lemon would have loved finding a new baby in her house: every time we've gotten a kitten, Miss Lemon finds it is her duty to immediately slam it to the ground and give it a really, really good washing. Many, many times a day.

Thank you again for your prayers and wishes.

More art on my website: jalapfaff.com

Untitled 24 (Naufragio con buen tiempo) (oil)

Here's the latest oil and cold wax painting, Untitled 24 or Naufragio con buen tiempo (Shipwreck in Good Weather). 16" x 16" on museum panel.

And a couple of detail shots:

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(Say in David Attenborough voice:) The wild Rumi creature, in its natural habitat, possesses an uncanny ability to camouflage itself when it senses danger. It often chooses an object like this cloth ottoman for the purpose. Alas, tragically, the bit of dark collar gives it away.

$325.00 - Untitled 24 (Naufragio) (No need to frame)

More art on my website: jalapfaff.com

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At one of the pools in town during the last two weeks of the summer (and frankly, miserably, at 99 degrees, it doesn't feel like summer is winding down at all!), they have what they call Dog Dayz. For five dollars, your pooch can go in and cool off (no humans allowed, unfortunately. That water sure looks nice and refreshing...). Here's The Husband and Mojito.

(It cracks me up that at the end, there's a guy who watches Mojito leap and seems to be trying to convince his dog to do likewise.)

Untitled 21 (oil)

Well, I know you've all been waiting with baited breath for the first finished painting from the workshop. Ta-da!

Hope you can see some of the texture and detail, part of what is so interesting about this technique. I think what fascinates me about the technique is that one can achieve results that seem simultaneously primitive and sophisticated.

Oil and cold wax on museum panel, 16" x 16".

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Saw this look of doggy consternation at the door and wondered what was wrong...

...And then looked back to where I had just set down the dogs' breakfast bowls:

Such a dramatic kind of boy. (And he's next to Mojito's bowl, not Jazz's. He knows.)

Sold.

More art on my website: jalapfaff.com