HAPPY BIRTHDAY,M🧡🐾🐾🧡🎃

HAPPY BIRTHDAY , M! 

LOVE, MOM, DAD ,TY, MAGGIE AND BAT 🧡🧡🎃🧡🧡 🐾🐾🐾🐾

 

SWEPT AWAY TO ANOTHER WORLD - IS THERE LIFE ON MARS?

Florence and Bat went to the seaside for the day.


FLORENCE : The crashing waves on a hot summer's day playfully mix with the crescendos of Life on Mars that's playing inside my head. Dreaming under a shy sun, we have been swept away: to another world. Is there life on Mars?


WIP Inspired by David Bowie and Edward Gorey

★ LEFT SIDE OF PAINTING IN THE SAND SPELLS BOWIE ★

LIFE ON MARS


It's a God-awful small affairTo the girl with the mousy hair
But her mummy is yelling, "No"
And her daddy has told her to go
But her friend is nowhere to be seen
Now she walks through her sunken dream
To the seat with the clearest view
And she's hooked to the silver screen
But the film is a saddening bore
For she's lived it ten times or more
She could spit in the eyes of fools
As they ask her to focus on
Sailors fighting in the dance hall
Oh man, look at those cavemen go
It's the freakiest show
Take a look at the lawman
Beating up the wrong guy
Oh man, wonder if he'll ever know
He's in the best selling show
Is there life on Mars?



It's on America's tortured brow
That Mickey Mouse has grown up a cow
Now the workers have struck for fame
'Cause Lennon's on sale again
See the mice in their million hordes
From Ibiza to the Norfolk Broads
Rule Britannia is out of bounds
To my mother, my dog, and clowns

But the film is a saddening bore
'Cause I wrote it ten times or more
It's about to be writ again
As I ask you to focus on



Sailors fighting in the dance hall
Oh man, look at those cavemen go
It's the freakiest show
Take a look at the lawman
Beating up the wrong guy
Oh man, wonder if he'll ever know
He's in the best selling show
Is there life on Mars?


- DAVID BOWIE **** "HE IS NOT DEAD HE IS LIVING ON MARS" @niallooo

 

Happy Saint Patrick's Day! ☘️

Happy Saint Patrick's Day! ☘️

Happy Saint Patrick's Day! ☘️

Sometimes, you have to believe in ghosts, fairies, and the luck of the Irish.

This little black pussy cat was rescued early this morning on Saint Patty's Day. Florence picked up the tiny creature who wasn't quite ready for upstairs with some help from the fairies. They lent Florence their Fairy's ladder made of Lily of the Valley. The fragrance was heavenly. Now, Florence had a new kitten to name.


Happy Saint Patrick's Day! ☘️


This is a very old Irish poem written by a monk in the 8th or 9th century.

"Pangur was a common name for cats at that place and time and the word “Ban” means white in Gaelic."




Pangur Ban - THE IRISH CAT POEM (vulpeslibris.wordpress.com)

I and Pangur Ban, my cat,

'Tis a like task we are at;

Hunting mice is his delight,

Hunting words I sit all night.




Better far than praise of men

'Tis to sit with book and pen;

Pangur bears me no ill will;

He, too, plies his simple skill.




'Tis a merry thing to see

At our task how glad are we,

When at home we sit and find

Entertainment to our mind.




Oftentimes a mouse will stray

Into the hero Pangur's way;

Oftentimes my keen thought set

Takes a meaning in its net.




'Gainst the wall he sets his eye

Full and fierce and sharp and sly;

'Gainst the wall of knowledge I

All my little wisdom try.




When a mouse darts from its den.

O how glad is Pangur then!

O what gladness do I prove

When I solve the doubts I love!




So in peace our tasks we ply,

Pangur Ban, my cat and I;

In our arts we find our bliss,

I have mine, and he has his.




Practice every day has made

Pangur perfect in his trade ;

I get wisdom day and night,

Turning Darkness into light.'




Translation by Robin Flowers

Happy Saint Patrick's Day! ☘️

IF ONLY IT TOOK JUST A CAT IN A HAT TO CLEAN UP THE MESS! 🌍🌎🌏 MONDAY THOUGHTS

“They say I'm old-fashioned and live in the past, but sometimes I think progress progresses too fast!”
― Dr. Seuss

THE CAT IN THE HAT

Inheritance

There's a house in Kemptville which has a fireplace under the stairs.
I fell in love and, I saved the realtor's brochure in my book box of art I someday would like to paint.

Summer came and went in a flash. My mood was in a shadow and, then, Autumn arrived and October. The chill in the air, the trees turning beautiful yellows, oranges, and reds, the beautiful moon at night all filled my senses. It's the month of October that always stirs my spirit, of course, our cats as well. "I'm so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers."If only more months would do the same for my mood as October does.

It's almost four years now, on October 27th, 2017, when Bat and Maggie, our two little rescues, showed up at our back door on M's birthday and Black Cat Appreciation Day in the UK. Bat is a black cat, well, a brown-black Nordic cat; imagine the coincidence. Magical! Because of them, our days are busy with photoshoots, paintings and, stories. M loves doing the photoshoots and, I love painting the two little Gremlins.

"Inheritance"- my latest painting, began with the Fireplace Under The Stairs and Halloween. I can't help it. I'm bewitched by October.
Bats, cats, pumpkins and, ghosts are purrfect for a Halloween Night in Uncle Herman's old cottage. Oh, did I tell you? I almost forgot to mention Bat and Maggie inherited Uncle Herman's estate, " Bat Cottage ".

OH MY DARLIN', WHY DO I LOVE YOU SO ? HAPPY CATURDAY😻😻😻

Love this Little Bat. 

We love you for so many reasons but the fact you appeared at our back door on Emma's birthday on October 27th, 2017 is truly magical and of course, you are two pets in one, a Cat, and a Bat!
~ Photos by M




HAPPY CATURDAY😻😻😻
WHY DO I LOVE YOU SO

TIME OUT - IT'S FRIDAY THE 13TH!

Ok, you need to stay in the corner till Friday is done! 😂 Just kidding! Love you, Batman!

Photo and digital artwork by M -Three Cats a Dog and A Camera

A Stitch in Time Saves Nine * Please Don't Eat The Daisies 🌼🌼🌼 Happy Caturday 😻

They say a stitch in time saves nine, in other words, deal with the problem right now before it gets out of hand. I love Spring, I love flowers and, I love cats and dogs but cats destroy the flowers 🌷🌷🌷 so before they could ( although some leaves already have little teeth marks) kill the daisies I covered them under a glass dome. 😂 Now, Bat is wondering what to do with his extra special day.

Follow the Adventures of Bat and Maggie

EYES WITHOUT A FACE 👀 LES YEUX SANS VISAGE 👀

IT'S EASY TO DECEIVE  WHEN YOU ARE A  BLACK CAT, LOL.

THREE CATS, A DOG, AND A CAMERA  ON INSTAGRAM

instagram.com/murtagh13/

This photo of Bat made me think of Billy Idol's song, 'Eyes Without a Face'. You can listen to it here.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=9OFpfTd0EIs

"Draw me like one of your french girls"

The eyes.😹

Emma comes up with such gorgeous and funny photos of her cats. Love the tag line she used for this photoshoot from the Titanic movie where Rose tells Jack,

 "Draw me like one of your french girls. "

Purrfect!

You can see more of her cat pictures on her  Instagram account~

Three Cats, A Dog, and A Camera

Our Lucky Charm 🤒🤧😷 Our Black Cat Can Charm All ill Away

Our Lucky Charm 🤒🤧😷

Here is an old Welsh Verse about Black Cats I think is cute

"A black cat, I’ve heard it said,
Can charm all ill away,
And keep the house wherein she dwells
From fever’s deadly sway."

Photo by M

Photo by M

I'm The Bad Guy 0202 2020

"I'm The Bad Guy "
So, Bat thinks he's Lee Van Cleef 😂
photo by M 

" My Precious" Photograph by M

" My Precious" Photograph by M

~ Bat is such an obliging cat when it comes to having his picture taken. Love the pic, M ♥️

🐈🐈🐈 🐕 📷Take a look at her Instagram Three Cats, A Dog, and a Camera

WITCHES' BROOM TREE WIP 🧹 OIL PAINTING

I love the trees! 

I love collecting their leaves, their seeds, the conks that I sometimes find on their trunks on my woodland walks and of course taking their photos. 

I also love the illustrations and paintings of trees, particularly the ones done by 19th - century British artists.

The Witch Broom Tree in this painting was inspired by Emily Carr's gorgeous trees of British Columbia.

"In 1818 Constable exhibited a beautiful drawing of elm trees at the Royal Academy. It failed to sell and so it was still in Constable’s possession two decades later, when he added a note on the back to the effect that “This noble Elm … was blown down April 1835.” It was a portrait, in other words, of a particular tree, one whose fortunes he continued to follow, and whose eventual loss he lamented long after he’d moved away from the area." ~ Professor Christiana Payne


And like John Constable, I adore painting them. When I came upon a tree down the road from where I live that looked quite peculiar I took a few photos of the tree for future reference which would come in handy when I went to paint it. At the time I didn't know why the tree was afflicted with such unusual, odd-looking, broom-like distortions but after looking it up online I discovered it was disease trees get and not from witches : )

I suppose the namesake is because it reminds one of a spooky broom belonging to a witch. So I decided to paint the Witch Broom Tree in oil but it was my first time painting entirely in oil and I didn't realize just how long it takes for the painting to dry and cure. This painting is still very wet.

I added a couple of spiders and webs to the tree and eventually would like to add a black cat and create more depth to the scenery before it's complete. Hopefully, in the process, I wouldn't destroy it.

NINE LIVES 😽😽😽😽😽😽😽😽😽 DONE 🧹

I believe this time it's done! I took a poll and asked people if they preferred the black and white version of 'Nine Lives' or the color. So I decided to add more color to the original; something I tend to shy away from.

I find each new painting I work on is a learning lesson and although the vision of what I perceived of the landscape to do not always materializes most often I'm happy with the end results. Of course, in the end, there is always that option to have one in black and white if I wish. 

'Nine Lives' with more color

 I  changed the vines and light on the tree. I think it's more effective in reflecting light. I also added color to the bird trees to the right of the tree and the moon has a small crescent moon inside its time tunnel. I also did more detail work on the moonflowers adding gold leaf to their center and star. Basically, I added color where it was needed. I like this one much better than the original.

'Nine Lives' ~ Original 

If you are interested in my artwork or my daughter M's artwok and photography...

Three Cats, a Dog, and a Camera

I have just reopened my Fine Art America Shop and will be adding more artwork soon.

Thumbelina Bat ~ How Bat 🦇 Got His Name

When we brought Bat home with us from The Ottawa Humane Society, the staff had covered him with a pink crochet blanket, only his face was showing. He looked like a tiny bat. Photograph by my daughter M

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A Ghostly Pumpkin Brioche of Roast Beef for Supper 🎃

M baked us some Pumpkin Bread 🎃

No, it's not Brioche but maybe I can convince her to bake Brioche Buns next time.

HAUNTED FOOD? This never happened before when M baked Pumpkin Bread.🎃 Paranormal activity? I think the yeast is haunted 👀😂

I think these 🎃Pumpkin Bread buns are simply scrumptious with leftover roast beef!

Oh, and Bat thought so too.

 🎃  A Purrrrrrfect Ghostly Pumpkin Brioche of Roast Beef!  🎃

⚡️🌈 ZIGGY STARDUST THE CAT ⚡️🌈

ZIGGY STARDUST THE CAT

Sunlight filtering through the glass of the front door painted Bat's eye. Not exactly Ziggy's lightning bolt but close enough.

⚡️🌈 Photo by M

EMRICK BAT 🖼🎨

EMRICK BAT 

OOO...Emrick Bat sits and watches the spooky night in Old Quebec; his long journey has finally come to an end and the scenery in front of him promises to be everything but boring.

I'm a Pisces and my sign is a pair of fish swimming in opposite directions. And being a Pisces, I always seem to go two ways at once, like my 2 wip paintings : ) I look forward to completing both in the next week. This one with Emrick (the name means immortal ) Bat, is a 6 x 6 canvas and I will be painting it in inks.

“What's in a name? That which we call a rose By any other name would smell as sweet.”

Early mornings are wonderful because it's a quiet time of the day perfect for having a cup a coffee and reading a book. Upon opening the cover of the book I noticed I had written my name inside it, of course from the picture I think it tells a little secret about me, I love cats; but nothing more.

Anna Belanger is my name but just how many people in the world go by that very same name? And for that matter, how many before me who passed on lived by this identical name?

I remember the first time I was taken aback seeing my name written on a tombstone in Italy. At the time I was very young and discovery my name of all places, on a cold granite stone marking a grave made me feel very uneasy. The grave in the family cemetery had revealed to me a secret; I was named after my dad's little sister who had died very young from pneumonia. Who knew, not me until that telling moment.

At that point I realized my name was never the one and only,it was handed down to me and had belonged to someonelse who lived before me. And again happening to me when I married discovering others who shared the very same name. So, when sharing the same name, how does one make a distinction from the rest?