May the 4th be with you!

I’ve been slacking on the posting lately, so…

… attempted fan art, I have!

 

 

Advertisement

poise, thy name is Ignatz

ODE TO IGNATZ (Iggy)

With snowy white fur,
and a deafening purr,
her toes are like a pink pearl erasers.

My Ignatz is shy,
but you cannot deny,
she’s the great lizard hunter and chaser.

———————————————

This kitty-ballerina image came to mind a last year while staring at my kitty, Iggy’s feets. I studied admiringly, her pristeen white fur and pink toes, bringing to mind the white tights and pink shoes of a prima ballerina. That along with an almost preternatural grace she’s been known to exhibit, while padding, almost toe dancing across the fireplace mantle. She lithely slinks along this 3 inch wide path, past tons of chachkis and photos, with nary an item being knocked over.

The girl’s got mad grace-skills!

Of course, when I have to rescue a terrified, de-tailed lizard from under our bed, one of many she proudly trots into the house, the ballerina image dissipates rapidly. –Sigh.

Click to get better look at Iggy’s feets!

Hey! This might be my very first post to Illustration Friday… on Friday!!!! WeeEeeeEEE! Ok, ok, I know, it’s because this is a repost. But I think you’ll agree it’s a good fit for “Poise” and I did punch up the rhyme and reworded the whole thing a bit. That counts, right?

six word memoir

I was invited by my friend Laurel of Studio Lolo fame, to write a six word memoir. A bit of a challenge, but for Laurel, I’ll give it a try.

Here are the rules:

1. Write a six word memoir and post it on your blog. Feel free to add an image.

2. Link your post to the person who tagged you.

3. Tag 5 more people and link to them.

4. Comment on the tagged blogs and invite them to participate…no pressure (0;

I’m inviting friends and family, because they are writers and they will still like me, even if I tag them… I hope.

Visual Kaos

Artsea Fartsea

Snowee

Alexis

Words Incognito

Here is my six word memoir:

.

.

Head in clouds… feet on ground.

.

.

pigskin

WELL I NEVER!

So my brother, sister and I were just over at Linda’s posing for a drawing she’s doing for that Iteration Fry Day thing. We were in the process of this magnanimous act, when we overheard something about you human types kicking around the “pigskin” tomorrow.

Oh no you didn’t just say kicking around the pigskin!

I mean, haven’t we pigs given you humans enough already? All we of the swine persuasion ever do is give, give, give and what do we get in return? We get kicked around a field of fake grass for a couple of hours while you, you apes sit around watching this travesty, shouting obscenities, while stuffing your faces full of nachos and chili dogs.

Degrading! That’s what it is!

I mean, I have half a mind to….oh, hold on a second. Excuse me? What?

Um, I’ve just been informed that pigskin is just an expression. It’s actually cowhide you’ll be kicking around tomorrow. Whatever.

Nevermind.

ceiling the deal

UPSIDE DOWN

Eddy Van Schmeeling,
hung from the celing,
causing his mother to frown.

“Get down boy!” she pled.
Then smiling he said,
“Why mom? You’re the one upside down!”

…………………………………………………………………

Today I feel very honored and humbled because in addition to recieving the “You Make My Day” award from Roberta Baird of “A Mouse in the House,” last week, a few more of my blogger buddies, Kim Coles of “I’m With Sully”, Julia, of “Bobo Miow” and Alicia Padrón of “My Place Over the Hill” bestowed the “You Make My Day” award upon me over the past week.

All four of these ladies have made this whole blogging experience so much fun and along with a whole bunch of other folks, have made me feel like I’m part of a big, fat, creative community, that I just love! Thanks guys!

Here is how it works:
1. Write a post with links to 5 blogs that make me think and/or make my day.
2. Acknowledge the post of the award giver.
3. Display the “You Make my Day Award” logo with a link to the post that I wrote. (Optional)
4. Tell the award winners that they have won by commenting on their blogs with the news.

So now I pick 5 people who make my day. Not an easy thing to do, since there are a bunch of you guys who have kick butt blogs and who stop by and give tons of encouragement. But here goes:

Colleen of The Frog Blog

Angela of Angelato

Eugenia Gina of dua mata saya

Eli of Art by Eli

Radha of Ratlion’s Den

All 5 are seriously talented and just a bunch of really nice folk. Thanks to all!

tails and legends II

Get it? Get it?

You see the Illustration Friday theme this week is Tales and Legends and he has a tail and the map has a legend, get it? Hee heeee heeeeeee…ok, I’m going to bed now.

tales and legends

VAMPIRE

I was craving garlic pizza,
so I grabbed my trusty bike,
and peddled off to Lou’s Place,
where they have the kind I like.

Rushing home, my luck turned sour.
I blew out my front tire.
As I stopped to check it out
I saw my first vampire.

He snuck out from the shadows
of the jacaranda tree,
and hovered just above the ground
while making eyes at me.

He smiled at me with sneery lips,
and stared his vampire stare.
Then floated over to me.
Man he gave me such a scare!

I pretended not to notice,
that his eyes were glowing red.
But he knew that I was frightened.
You can’t fool those darn un-dead.

I figured I was done for
as he flashed his gleaming fangs.
Then I got this great idea
when I felt some hunger pangs.

Remembering I bought some
garlic pizza from Lou’s Place,
I grabbed it from my bike rack
and I shoved it in his face!

The vampire’s eyes shot open!
Oh he croaked just like a toad!
My trusty garlic pizza
caused the vampire to explode!

The Illustration Friday theme this week is “Tales and Legends.”

blog orphans unite!

It was a dark and stormy night….no wait…ahem…it’s raining like people and dogs out here in So. Cal!!

Ok, seriously now, I may be a quick sketch of a kitty, but I have feelings too, and I am here right now to make a plea. I’d like to speak on behalf of all the pets out there who have bloggers for parents. I’d like to pose this question to you. What ever happened to watching the telly? What ever happened to stopping for a moment, listening to the rain, having a little soup, letting us lick the bowl, then allowing us to curl up in your lap and watch some tube? Lap Time, we, the furry, like to call it.

Lap Time is a very critical part of human/pet bonding. Do you even care?. Nooooo! You are too busy tap tap tapping away at that flat thing on your desk, pushing us off of it, staring at that silvery, shiny, thing with pictures all over it. That thing you call the Interwebs!

I guess, I just want to say (sniffmeow) if you care about us at all, you will get up from the webbernets, walk over to the t.v. and spend a little quality time with the ones who love you unconditionally.

Do it or I’ll poop in your shoe.

mairzy dotes

Aaaarrrg!

I’ve got this silly song stuck in my head!

Apparently, bits of music getting stuck in one’s head is a fairly common occurrence. It happens to Tom and I on a regular basis. If one of us gets infected with a song, we never hesitate to share the misery with the other. When it happens to Tom, he refers to this endless, viral, loop of music to “the jukebox that is my brain.” I understand the term is actually “earworm,” however.

What the…earworm…what? Well, according to Wikipedia:

Earworm, a loan translation of the German Ohrwurm, is a term for a portion of a song or other musical material that becomes “stuck” in a person’s “head” or repeats against one’s will within one’s mind.

Anyway, song…stuck in my head…driving me crazy.

You ever notice that when a ditty does burrow itself into you psyche, it’s never something you actually like? Nothing like, Radio Head, Porcupine Tree or The White Stripes. It couldn’t possibly be anything as sophisticated as a Mozart concerto, or a cool Brazilian jazz groove. No, no, no, it’s usually something like “Wake Me Up Before You Go Go”, by Wham, or “Oops! I Did It Again” by Britney Spears.

Again…aaaarrrrrrrrg!

So, back to the song that’s stuck in my head. Have you heard it?

MAIRZY DOATS

Mairzy doats and dozy doats and liddle lamzy divey
A kiddley divey too, wouldn’t you?

If the words sound queer and funny to your ear, a little bit jumbled and jivey,

Sing “Mares eat oats and does eat oats and little lambs eat ivy.”

It’s an old timey song, that has no business in my head.

It was fun at first. Yes, at first. But now it’s driving me batty!

So, I figure the only way to exorcise this curse from my head is to draw it. Perhaps if I sketch it all out, it will exhaust itself and then toddle off and jump into someone else’s brain, where it belongs.

I’ll let you know how it goes.

goo goo g’joob

THE ART OF WALRUSING

This weekend, Tom and I promised each other we would make no commitments to entertain, nor engage in any random acts of home improvement. Anything even remotely productive would be off limits this weekend. We promised each other a week of pure unadulterated laziness, or as we like to call it, walrusing.

I feel quite sure I don’t have to explain why the walrus is our avatar of sloth and inactivity, but in case I do, I invite you to picture for a moment, a bunch of walruses.

Are you picturing them?

I can wait.

Have you gotten that image in your mind’s eye yet?

Ok, what are they doing? They’re lying around, right? Lying around all blubbery and sluggish. Perhaps one or two will occasionally lift their head and back flippers up at the same time, once maybe twice, reminiscent of a new gym member trying to do some “floor work” for the first time. But they’re all pretty much lounging.

Ok, I think you have the idea.

Now, I’d like to point out that Tom did not live up to the challenge. He very maliciously did laundry, the dishes, and some minor tree pruning.

The audacity!

I, on the other hand, took no shower, wore the same sweats I slept in, stepped over a pile of dirty clothes and padded over to my computer where I pushed a dirty dish from last night onto Tom’s desk and I surfed the net most of the day.

I showed him!

you make my day

Ahem…excuse me..yes, my name is Joey and my good friend Linda asked me to come out here and say a few words on her behalf. She seems to be detained at the moment.

She wanted me to thank the very lovely and talented Roberta Baird of “A Mouse in the House” for passing the “You Make My Day” award her way. She was very flattered and touched, and, well, it made her day.

Here’s how the “You Make My Day” award works!

1. Write a post with links to five blogs that make your day or make you think.

2. Acknowledge the post of the award giver.

3. Display the “You Make My Day” link to the post. (optional)

4. Tell the blog winners that they have won by commenting on their blog.

Linda has chosen the following artists:

• Bambi at le pen quotidien for her great storytelling, amazing drawings and adorable critters.
• Helena at The Empress’ New Clothes. and Little Sketches. Really enjoyed her sketch blog and am now getting quite an art history education from her new blog.
• Val over at The Illustrated Garden for her gorgeous paintings of all things green and her inspirational and also very green writing.
• Julia at Bobo Miow for her adorable depiction of Bobo, her kitty’s antics and conquests.
• Tom (Linda’s husband and my nemesis) at VisualKaos for always making her day (eeeyew, I know mushy, huh?)

She wanted to list a bunch more, but I told her to simmer down, you only get five.

Anyway, she would have thanked you all herself, but is attending to some minor cuts and abrasions.

I’m not sure what happened, it’s all a blur. The last thing I remember was her mentioning doing less kitty drawings in the future, and maybe drawing some more raccoons or dogs.

Tsk tsk, she should be more careful.

can you hear meow?

KITTY SNIT

My cat is annoyed,
turned his back to avoid,
with not so much as meow.

His one ear turns back,
as I pour out his snack.
Hello, can you hear me now?

stitch deux

FRANK

My mind is typically a roiling cauldron of cute overload (kittens, babies and butterflies, oh my!) competing with more quirky monstery things. This week’s Illustration Friday theme, “Stitch” brought both to the surface, wrestling it out

Looks like it’s a tie.

Drawing….gooooood!

stitch

When it comes to pure, unfettered, joy, what can compare to a giggling, frolicking, baby, without a stitch of clothing on?

The Illustration Friday theme this week is “Stitch”.

Two characters were competing for attention this week. This cheeky little guy won the first round, but something else, something quite different is lurking in the shadows.

Stay tuned.

iggy

ODE TO IGNATZ (Iggy)

She has snowy white fur
and a deafening purr.
Her toes are like pink pearl erasers.

Although painfully shy,
she can be bribed by,
the soft ripened brie she much prefers.

———————————————

The image of a ballerina came to mind, yesterday, while staring at Iggy’s feets. Staring at her pink toes and pristeen white feet fur and admiring the otherworldly grace she’s been known to exibit while padding across the fireplace mantle. She ambles along this 3 inch wide path, past tons of chachkis and photos, with nary an item knocking over.

The girl’s got grace.

Of course, when I have to rescue a terrified, de-tailed lizard from under our bed, one of many she proudly trotts into the house, the ballerina image dissipates rapidly.