Cats on Wednesday -- A Trio of Cat Books

Children’s books about cats are always popular. Many of us cat lovers enjoy them, and their intended audience (children) certainly love them. At the Chemers Gallery illustrators’ event I attended last weekend there were three examples of lovely, but very diverse, cat books illustrated by two of the featured illustrators.


Cat Dreams

One of them was Cat Dreams, by Ursula K. Le Guin – a charming book about a napping cat. The model for illustrator S.D. Schindler was his cat, Furball (a very attractive calico with green eyes). Schindler is also the illustrator of Le Guin’s marvelous Catwings books as well as more than 50 other children’s books.

Fat Cat

Where is Catkin?

Also representing cats in the gallery was another favorite illustrator’s books – Julie Paschkis’ Fat Cat and Where is Catkin?



I hope to get back to the gallery to study the original illustrations more closely before the exhibit ends.

I Meet My Favorite Illustrator at a Gallery Show

Saturday I attended the annual Chemers Gallery Children's Book Illustrators Show and Signing in Tustin.  The show included demonstrations and a display of books and original art by five exceptional illustrators, working in various styles and mediums.



I was particularly excited about the inclusion this year of one of my most favorite ‘illustrator-idols’, the master illustrator Gennady Spirin, who came with his son Ilya (also an illustrator) as translator. Illustrators always want to know details of artists' processes and mediums, so it was gratifying when Gennady answered questions from the audience. We learned he does his gorgeously detailed, often quite small, paintings without a magnifying glass. He doesn’t even wear glasses, ‘thanks be to God’. He uses all mediums but prefers watercolor, especially for illustrating books. He has every imaginable size of brush and prefers Russian sable, which he says will last him through two books whereas other brushes will only last through two paintings. He likes Windsor and Newton paints, but also uses Russian watercolors (though they have fewer color choices).

Who inspires him? So many artists he couldn’t pick just one, but certainly the Renaissance masters. About his beautiful, graceful calligraphy, he feels it’s part of his art. He has designed most of the title calligraphy for his books. He professed dissatisfaction with all his body of work. He enjoys the process, but he always wants to do better and better and grow as an artist.

Of course original illustrations are always better than the work in print. Gennady Spirin’s originals are breathtaking.

The gallery exhibit and sale continue through December 18.

Sketching in Tea Rooms and Coffee Shops

I’m sure there have been artists sketching in taverns, pubs, tea rooms and coffee houses since there first were such places. One of my favorite spots for sketching is the Gypsy Den in Santa Ana, an arty and charming restaurant/café in a part of town that is very artist-friendly, with lofts, studios and galleries.










The Gypsy Den has long, floaty pale curtains in interesting colors, lots of oil paintings on the walls and occasional live music. It’s too far for me to visit often, but I go there any time I’m in the area. It’s a great place to sketch or to write, and I’ve included a couple of drawings I’ve done there. I’ve been inspired lately to seek out more cozy places to sketch, closer to where I live. Sketching is a great way to train your eye, to experiment and to grow as an artist.



I’ve recently been inspired by an excellent blog (Urban Sketchers) of artists from six continents whose drawings are an ongoing record of their surroundings, done on site. They are sketching their world ‘one drawing at a time’. I’ve always admired artists who sketch regularly. I intend to be one of them.

Cats on Wednesday -- Therapy Abroad

I find cats therapeutic – definitely mood-lifting, which of course enhances their value to harried deadline-plagued illustrators or plot-blocked writers. The longest periods of time I’ve been without a cat have been the extended times I’ve spent in Europe. In London I was staying in a comfortable little B&B in Bloomsbury. Only one other family (English, but recently forced by circumstances to leave their home in the Middle East) were staying in the hotel over Christmas. The hotel owner had a sweet-tempered, placid black and white cat named Tibby – a bit overweight from being spoiled by too many years of guests who, like us and our neighbors down the hall who had tried every day to lure the cat into our rooms with treats. We took turns – a rivalry of sorts – trying to get Tibby to spend time with each of us. Comfort companionship, entertainment. Every day the long-suffering landlord’s son would climb the stairs and knock on each of our doors. “Do you have Tibby?” he would ask. One or the other of us probably did.

Another cat, a grey cat, was encountered for only one day, when cheering was needed. She had bounded across a meadow in Switzerland, very purposefully and joyfully and with what looked like recognition, to cheer up three Americans going for a dejected walk in the countryside. She appeared to understand English perfectly and communicated cheerfulness so thoroughly that recovery was very quick and life’s problems soon solved.

So to tie in with my coffee shop theme this week, there are cat café’s in Japan. For about six years they have been very popular little establishments. Tea, coffee and smoothies are available, but the big draw is the cats, which provide a different kind of pick-me-up. Merchants there have come up with a solution for pet-starved over-crowded, can’t-keep-cats-in-your-apartment citizens of Tokyo who need the comforting, cheering and charming company of cats. There are quite a few of these cafés, where there’s a nominal fee for spending quality time with the cats. The cafés look very pleasant and clean in the pictures I’ve seen and very few actual refreshments are in evidence. The patrons have to take off their shoes and wash their hands before entering the cats’ presence and can’t disturb sleeping cats, pull tails or be uncivilized in any way! Sounds good to me.

I am without a cat for the time being – I’d love to visit a cat café right now!