Yesterday, I was in the master bathroom when I heard the unmistakable sound of little furry paws scuffling around as though chasing something. I cautiously peeked around the door into the bedroom to see Booger chasing after a phantom....something.....on top of the bed.
The very second she saw me she froze. Game over! We both knew the game was up, whatever it may have been, and that she would soon resume her matronly, elderly,* "stiff-upper-lip," "I'm-too-old-for-this-kitten-nonsense-anymore" routine. I also knew she looked about as cute as cute can look AND that the camera was at the other end of the house AND that there may, or may not, be a memory card in it! What to do, what to do!
Instead of running for the camera, I ran to grab paper and pencil. By the time I raced back into the room (30 seconds later), Boogs had moved over to the corner of the bed and commenced with her morning bath. She looked up at me as if to say, "What?! You can't prove anything and I ain't 'fessing to nothin'!" If you are owned by a cat, you understand this cattitude all too well.
So, I closed my eyes so that I could see her in my mind and then went to work sketching what I had seen.....
The very second she saw me she froze. Game over! We both knew the game was up, whatever it may have been, and that she would soon resume her matronly, elderly,* "stiff-upper-lip," "I'm-too-old-for-this-kitten-nonsense-anymore" routine. I also knew she looked about as cute as cute can look AND that the camera was at the other end of the house AND that there may, or may not, be a memory card in it! What to do, what to do!
Instead of running for the camera, I ran to grab paper and pencil. By the time I raced back into the room (30 seconds later), Boogs had moved over to the corner of the bed and commenced with her morning bath. She looked up at me as if to say, "What?! You can't prove anything and I ain't 'fessing to nothin'!" If you are owned by a cat, you understand this cattitude all too well.
So, I closed my eyes so that I could see her in my mind and then went to work sketching what I had seen.....
Pencil with watercolor washes on
computer paper
....and this was close to what I saw! She had the playful, wild-eyed look of a cat (kitten) on the hunt while she was playing hide and seek in the covers with whatever she had been chasing. After doing the pencil sketch I went back and added some very light washes to give it some dimension. When Chris came home, I showed it to him and was rewarded with an immediate burst of laughter–just the reaction I was looking for!! (I'm thinking this will eventually turn into a painting.)
We have often wondered what spirits or faeries the cats interact with–sometimes playing, sometimes acting as if they're terrified, sometimes (often) acting as they're daft. These thoughts were fluttering around in my mind and I kept thinking that perhaps Booger had been playing with one of the faeries (gremlins) that inhabit our home....
Pencil with watercolor washes on
computer paper
....and so I added one very mad, little faerie that had just had her hair mussed by an overly playful cat!
*What is interesting in all of this is that Booger will be 18 years old in late May/early June, but you'd never have know it the way she was acting! I guess she's feeling Spring just like the rest of us.
