Cats and dogs and the start of a painting

 Late evening tulips (work in progress)

Acrylic on birch panel

12 x 12 inches

Barbara Muir © 2014

If you are lucky enough to live with cats and dogs
you know that most of what is stereotypically
assigned to the animals as character traits is
incorrect.  My dog is upstairs sound asleep.
She's had a good run and enough food, and as
far as she's concerned nothing could be better than
being left in my room instead of going down into
her own bed. 

My Siamese cat on the other hand is worried, and
that's why I'm going to bed without finishing this
painting.  She has checked on me about five times
because she knows I need to get to bed.  She is
very concerned with our wellbeing.  If we begin
to get emotional about a discussion of any sort she
begins to yowl for us to stop.  She is big on my
word of the moment -- order.  And in this case
I need to follow her lead.

She knows that it's time for me to quit painting
and go to bed, and she wants to go to hers.  The
cats and the dog sleep in the basement at night, and
my cat knows that time has come -- and gone.

I have painted from this reference photo before in
watercolour, but it's an entirely different experience
painting on wood.  This is just the start, and I feel
happy already.

Have a listening-to-your-animals day.