When Interests Merge - PAAW, Cats, and Watercolor

What lovely serendipity when one's various interests can merge into one.  

For the past year, Michael and I have been volunteering with an animal adoption organization, PAAW  (Pet Adoption Alternative of Warren).  Primarily we are 'cat socializers', spending a couple of hours a week at the local PETCO store, handling and loving the 6 - 12 cats that stay there waiting to be adopted.  Because there are Many Other cats also waiting, they must live in foster homes until there's room at the store.  Then the cats experience the stress of moving from a home to a store environment, and they need plenty of attention to get over it.

You can already guess, then, how the interests have merged. The painting above shows Minnie and May.  I painted this from a photograph graciously provided by Ed Spilker (another PAAW volunteer and mainstay).  I've donated it to PAAW to, I hope, be a 'sweetener'  and help get Minnie and May adopted.

May is the outgoing one (on the left in the painting), and will come for attention.  Minnie is shy, and depends on May for support.  In time she relaxes and becomes a lovely kitty.  She will likely always be shy, but she wants to be loved, and loves her sister dearly.  We really want them to be adopted together.Minnie and May were born in May of 2010.  More information about PAAW  can be found at www.paawarren.org, and you can see more of Minnie and May at www.paawarren.petfinder.com.

I'm planning on a doing a series of cat portraits to donate, choosing the sweetest cats who have waited longest for their Forever Homes.     I also hope that this could lead to more paid commission cat portraits - I do love doing them.     If it works out, I'll be donating 20% of sales from cat portraits to PAAW. 

What comes next? Florabundance ends . . .

Pat McGraw and I will  be taking down our shared "Florabundance" show at Birmingham Unitarian Church on Thursday.  It was quite an experience for both of us:  I feel like now I've at least  tasted what it's like to be in the Majors, the Big Time.   The paintings were mounted and displayed and lit beautifully in the lovely stepped hallway and the "pavilion" of the church.   It was a spacious and professional display, more gallery than art fair. 

Perhaps best of all was how well our paintings complemented each other.  We received a lot of Compliments about the Complement!

We had a lovely reception with a nice turn out . Were you there? If so, thanks so much for attending: we were both so proud of this venue we wanted EVERYONE to see it.  If not, no worries, the link to your right on this page will show a slide show of the paintings I had in the show.

Also, check the Sisters of the Brush site - I'll be setting up a temporary page very soon,  with pictures from the reception and the exhibit.

We are also feeling fairly successful as each of us sold a few paintings. This will make the church happy, as we'll be donating 20% of sales there, and will make us happy as we donate another 10% to the Mary McCarthy Anderson College Scholarship Fund.