Wednesday, March 31, 2010

Privacy? What Privacy?





I just learned about an online phone book where individuals can learn (snoop) into your private information. It's called spokeo.com, and it gives me the creeps. For less than $3.00 a month, nosy "people" can see a picture of your house, learn your age, how many people live in your house, discover your credit score, etc. It even keeps track of your activities on Blogger. I found pictures of clients' pets I have stored on Photo Bucket. Maybe it's only me, but I find this obnoxious. You can remove your name by clicking on "privacy" at the bottom of the page and following the instructions. I know personal searches can be done online, but this is just too much.

Tuesday, March 30, 2010

Abandoned Dogs



It seems Japan has a massive abandoned dog problem. The dogs are first adopted as a fashionable acquisition, but the realities of pet ownership cause some owners to relinquish their pets to shelters, or even dump them on the streets. Over seventy percent of all dogs in shelters are enthanized because the Japanese reject anything "secondhand." Dogs living in the streets wander in packs causing numerous kinds of trouble for residents. Fortunately, there is an organization called Angels with Fur Japan that publishes pictures of adoptable dogs (and cats) online. They're doing what they can to educate people to accept previously owned pets into their lives. To visit the Angels with Fur Japan website click HERE. The pictures are really cute. To adopt an abandoned pet in the States, visit Petfinder. Pets are thrown away alike rejected playthings everywhere.  




A little Dachshund from Japan named Yu. How could you say no to eyes like that?

Monday, March 29, 2010

Renoir's Cats



This rather intense looking person is Pierre Auguste Renoir. Renoir was a French Impressionist painter who sometimes included cats in his pictures. Apparently, he was a great fan of cats, and this affection can be seen in the following works.


    Woman with Cat

The eyes are really drawn to the cat. It reminds me of my aunt's old cat named Holly. Holly was a stray, who'd become so nervous she'd drool. It wasn't her teeth. Poor Holly. One day, she went out to play and never returned. Cats who go outside can have a sad way of disappearing.

      

Sleeping Girl with Cat

 Her stockings are very fashionable in a striped sort of way.


Julie Manet with Cat

Julie was the only daughter of the artist Berthe Morisot and Eugene Manet. Eugene was the younger brother of artist Edouard Manet. Julie died in the year 1966 at the advanced age of 87.

 

Here she is grown up.


Girl and Cat

I like the way the cat is standing on its back legs to reach the flowers. Though the Impressionist painters are favorites of mine, I never cared much for Renoir. There's something about the sameness of the people, and the sticky sweet colors, that bother me. He was a great hit with my mother though. When I was young, we had a big Renoir print hanging over the piano. The little Renoir girl would look at me with horror as I tortured the keyboard. I do like Renoir's cats though.


Sleeping Cat


Wait! That's not a cat! For the dog lovers of the world, here's a Renoir puppy. It's called, sensibly enough, Head of a Dog. 


This is the head of Renoir. It's a self-portrait looking older and much less intense.

Friday, March 26, 2010

Dog Cartoons



 
Since I posted cat cartoons in an earlier entry, I wanted to give dogs an equal billing.












Most of the cartoons came from Reader's Digest.

Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Artie and Company




This is Artie. As you can see, she's a very beautiful gray cat with lovely eyes. She lives in an apartment with her two sisters, one brother and a tank of goldfish. They'll soon be moving to their own house less than a mile away, where they'll have much more room to play and sleep. At the moment it's a bit cramped. Artie's mom is excited, since she'll be able to squeeze in MORE cats with the added space. I hope she gets more litter boxes to go with the cats! 


  


Here is Artie's brother Sam. All of these cats are very friendly. There's not a shy one in the bunch.




Sabe is a short haired orange tabby, who coordinates with Sam, the long haired orange tabby. 


  


This picture is a bit overexposed and doesn't do Snow justice. She's a Siamese mix with big blue eyes. 


  


Let's not forget the fish. They don't seem to have any names. They love to eat though, and have a talent for making a big mess.




One more picture of the fish. I like the little fish sticker I found on the photo editing site named Picnik.


Sunday, March 21, 2010

Awesome Dog Fancy Puppy




My photographer client/friend Joy Brown is very excited because Dog Fancy Magazine has published one of her pictures. The photo, of a St. Bernard pup, is in the April 2010 Puppy Issue, and can be found anywhere really GOOD magazines are sold. It's a full page photo! Joy would love it if you checked it out.  

Thursday, March 18, 2010

Nadia and Her Siblings





This is my friend Nadia. I've posted about Nadia and her siblings in an earlier blog entry. This particular kitty is the one with the look of impending doom. I sit this little cat crowd frequently, and I'm always happy to see them.




Elvis is the only boy in the group of four. He follows me around like a puppy, and sometimes considers climbing up my jeans. With his cheerful congeniality, he'd be a wonderful social events coordinator of a cruise ship. 




Sophie is as round as a little meatball with legs. If meatballs had legs. Though she's on diet food, she doesn't like it, and eats up whatever tastier food is available. Actually, none of the cats like the diet food. When I arrive for my daily visit, I find the tasty (still very healthy) food gone, and the unfortunate diet crunchies almost totally ignored. I provide both kinds since only Sophie is on a diet, and if she refuses one, at least she'll eat the other. 


  


This is an older picture of Calie, since all my newer pictures turned out blurry for some reason. She only has one ear, as the removed one turned down like a Scottish Fold, and often caused ear infections. 


  


My clients rent the top floor apartment of a two story home. The landlords live downstairs. This is the landlord's mail, and other items, filling the entryway. They're very bad at collecting their mail, a state of affairs that occasionally creates a problem for my clients. Once, the electricity was turned off because the bill got lost under a mound of "stuff." I wonder what the fire department would say if they ever saw the mess?




Here's one more picture of Sophie waddling down the hall.

  

Monday, March 15, 2010

Sir Isaac Newton and the Cat Flap




It's widely believed Sir Isaac Newton invented the cat flap. Whether true or not, I wouldn't know, but I'd like to think this bit of Newton information entirely factual. The story goes that Newton, working on laboratory light experiments, was repeatedly foiled by unwanted light from a cat pushed open door. Not wanting to banish the cat, Newton cut a hole in the door, and attached a piece of felt to block out unwanted light. Since Newton and the cat were now happy, the world's first cat flap solved the light problem nicely. Later, when the cat had kittens, Newton cut several more kitten sized holes in the door. Though the kittens could have used the larger cat flap, Newton provided the extra doors anyway. This just shows no matter how giant your brain is, logic can still escape you. Alternately, maybe he just found all those little cat flaps amusing.  


        

Sir Isaac Newton

Saturday, March 13, 2010

Madison Money





If business doesn't improve soon, I'll have to print my own money!

Friday, March 12, 2010

Leonardo da Vinci - Part Two


Some Leonardo da Vinci animal sketches.



 
Cats, Lions and Dragons

 

 
Study of the Head of a Horse



Horse and Rider


Thursday, March 11, 2010

Leonardo da Vinci Quotes





"The smallest feline is a masterpiece."

Leonardo da Vinci




"The time will come when men such as I will look upon the murder of animals as they now look on the murder of men."

Leonardo da Vinci

  

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Clipped Nightmares





Though it's a little hard to tell, this is a dog. Underneath all that black and white fur hides a Poodle. I feel bad for Poodles. Though orginally working dogs from Germany bred to retrieve water birds, they're now often consigned to sculpture status in the hands of artistic groomers. Maybe this Panda-Poodle is "cute," but what about a little canine dignity? I wonder what the dogs think?




My Little Pony AWAY!




This one is tame compared to the others.




Captain Jack Sparrow. I actually like this one.




I suppose the colors are pretty.




For the football fan in your life.




Cubism!




Oh good, grapes. I could use a drink now.

Sunday, March 7, 2010

Andy Warhol's Pet Art



Andy Warhol and Archie.

Though Andy Warhol was a well known cat lover, publishing a book called 25 Cats Name Sam and One Blue Pussy, he later adopted a Dachshund puppy named Archie. Archie was never far from Warhol's side. He went to Warhol's studio, attended dinners, took trips to London, and "fielded" questions Warhol refused to answer at interviews. Archie was later joined by another Dachshund named Amos.




A portrait of Archie done in 1978.



This is a portrait of "Ginger," a Cocker Spaniel owned by art collector Peter Brant.


Here is one of the cats name Sam. There was no "d" in the title, as Warhol's mother inadvertently left it off when doing the lettering. Warhol didn't change it, since he thought it looked fine the way it was.



The one "Blue Pussy."