Black Friday Art Sale

What? A sale?  In your own home?  YES!  10% may not sound like much but when you’re considering big pieces like this, it’s a bargain!

Go to my website,

Colorcatstudios101.etsy.com

and find special, original and one of a kind Christmas gifts from $5.00 on up for kids and adults alike.

Use the code:

https://www.etsy.com/shop/ColorCatStudios101?coupon=BLACK10

for a discount through Sunday!

*and why do I not give 40% discounts like big stores?  I am a small business.  I’ve worked like a crazy person to get ready for this and have had a super-difficult Covid year of sales. If I offered a 40% discount I would be operating at a loss.  Please value my art and know you’re getting lots of creativity and loved packed into each piece.  

#buylocal and please support your local business owners.

Pippy’s Adventures Painting

Pippy’s checking out the work.  I don’t think he’s impressed. 😆 He’s more concerned with squirrels, birds, lizards and voles.

This one’s called ‘Oh, Pippy!’  For sale.  If you love cats I have an entire series called ‘Pippy’s Adventures.’ You can see the whole series and a bunch of videos if you check me out on Instagram as Color_Cat_Cindy or go to my website, 

Running Cheetah Painting

This big beauty is speeding along, kicking up the dirt on a bed of gold.  A very special painting looking for a very special place.  Message me if you’re interested in this beautiful all-archival piece.

It is truly beautiful.

Fall Giveaway of Art!

GIVEAWAY?!?! Now that fall is officially here, I will be giving away this acrylic painting! Watch for details. 🍁🍃🍂🍁🍃🍂 

Rock Wall Series Painting

Well, this one sold before I got to show you but I thought you might like to see it anyway.  This is the fourth painting in my Rock Wall series and the fourth to sell in so many days.  I can’t keep up with you guys - who knew?  I guess others love plants as much as I do!  I’ll try to post my next one here tomorrow to give you a chance as well before it sells.

You can find a lot of similarly wonderful color-changing art on my website,

colorcatstudios101.etsy.com

Mixed Media Sketch

Sometimes I just have to get my color out.  This one pretty much did it.  Colored pencil, paint pen and a silver pen. I have a really heavy hand with pencils of any kind and can’t seem to produce any kind of work without breaking them.  I tend to go for the pencils, graphite or colored that are big and fat. For me, they’re a little less prone to breakage and oh... that smooth lay down.

Art Lesson on Pencils

School is in session! I’m going to give you Pencil 101.  Did you know art must be learned block by block just like math or science? We always start with pencils!

For great art you need different kinds of lines, darks, lights, etc. and for that you need a range of pencils. They’re numbered like this:

9H 8H 7H 6H 5H 4H 3H 2H HB 2B 3B 4B ..... to 9B.

All the pencils in your house are either 2H, HB or 2B, grouped under the name ‘#2 pencils.’

H stands for hard, and these are light pencils, 9H being nearly invisible. The super hard pencils can also be sharpened to a deadly point and used as a lethal weapon.

B stands for black, and the get continually darker out to 9B, the blackest and most dastardly of all.*  These pencils will break when you drop them because the graphite is so soft, to make dark marks.  So, drop your H pencils.  

If you look at the points as in the second photo, the fattest graphite is the darkest pencil, the skinniest would be the lightest.  So, you don’t even need the pencil name to know what you want! 🙂. Any questions? 🙂 

*art people, I’m simplifying.  I know what you’re thinking.

Rock and Root Painting

Where would YOU put this? Need a little glow? I am just so excited about these paintings! They glow like nobody’s business and just enrich our home in the most unexpected places.  I just listed this one tonight in my shop for your perusing pleasure.

Different angles make the paints reflect differently.

Pippy’s Adventures Painting Series

As you go into the new week, be kind.  Remember, if a cat and bird can be friends, then we all can be kind to everyone. 

I began this series of paintings, Pippy’s Adventures, after our son’s cat, Pippy.  This loveable, unforgettable cat has gotten into more trouble than all the 30 plus cats we’ve had in our life.  Getting stuck on the roof, getting stuck up trees, meeting neighbor cats not-in-a-good-way, bringing home lots of... small animals...  Every other day or so one of us says ‘bring the antibiotic and come and help me with Pippy’ as a matter of course.  Life is an adventure with this kooky, intrepid cat that I tried not to love.  Didn’t work, little stinker.  Anyway, I have just a few Pippy paintings left in my shop.

Leaves on the Ground Painting

Happy Saturday! The best photo in this bunch is the last one. ;) 

Today’s a good day to walk around to see what beautiful things are laying on the ground.  It’s fall!  Let’s think fall and maybe it will cool off a bit. 

The days are getting shorter.  This painting is available, and yes, these three photos are of the same painting which I created with color shifting paint!  Aren’t they beautiful?

You never know what’s going to inspire an artist.  Visit me at colorcatstudios101.etsy.com

More Art Coming!!

It’s coming!  More beautiful artwork in my Shiny Pebble series coming tonight!

The work Behind a Painting

How do you prepare yourself for a piece of work?  As for me, my paintings don’t just jump out.  Idea, brainstorm, lots of thumbnail sketches .  Finally, getting the drawing onto the paper or canvas and then working out the colors.  This swatch?  I had a painting ready and wanted to choose three good, warm colors that would compliment each other.  So, when you see anybody’s art , appreciate it for how much consideration and work has gone into it.  AND... this is a hint of things to come!! 

Tiny Watercolor

I’m curious which you like best - the first one with the background, or the second one without the background? 

Just a little watercolor sketch inspired by that teeny little branch I found on our recycling can.

 Sometimes I do little sketches like this as a segue into the big stuff, sometimes this is all I have time for, and often because it inspires me.  Also note the background color in the top half is Daniel Smith’s Fuchsite Genuine.  It is made up of ground fuchsite and has a smooth lay down with a bit of a sheen to it.  LOVE. 

Cat Painting

Since I seem to have this cat theme going lately I might as well continue with it. This is my baby watching over me. When I woke up from my post-surgery stupor there he was, laying there looking down over me. I did a sketch of him directly onto a canvas in bed and painted it later.  I don’t even remember making that sketch!  It was a bad surgery and a hard recovery.  Anyway, a couple weeks later I had this painting so that’s ONE good thing!  He’s for sale.  12”x24” on canvas, wired for hanging. You can find this fur baby at

Colorcatstudios101.etsy.com

 It’s a painting that’s hard to part with, but I still have my furry feline watcher. Some of these paintings need to go so I can paint new ones!

Hope in a Dark World

In these precarious times we MUST turn to God’s word.  If each of us did our own part in following those ten extremely strong suggestions, can you imagine what kind of world we would live in?  LOVE EVERYONE!

‘Oh Lord, God of our fathers, are you not the God who is in heaven?  You rule over all the kingdoms of the nations.  Power and might are in your hand and no one can withstand you..... we do not know what to do, but our eyes are upon you.’  This is II Chronicles 20 verses 6 and 12.  These seven verses in order, which I did not type, are precious. They praise God, recall his deeds, remember his promises, tell him their problems and ask for help, then the last verse wraps up with ‘We do not know what to do, but our eyes are upon you.’  Maybe this is all we need to do, huh?

Yesterday we got two inches of rain.  Rain and beauty are God’s blessings too. This beautiful hibiscus thrives because of God’s gifts.  Let’s obey him by loving everyone.

Newest Print

I love these bold lines, don’t you?  This tiny piece is one of my double prints. Layers of color and design build up to make one fascinating, tiny piece.  This is only 4”x6”, just the right size to brighten up THAT SPOT.  

So cool, huh? :). Here it is with my computer.  I.... uh... have always wanted one of those cool,

light-up, colorful keyboards - you know what I mean?  Well, here’s mine.  It’s... colorful. :)


Signed on the back. 4”x6” and packaged for mailing and displaY.

I carved the blocks to make this print and layered the colors.  This is an original print; I couldn’t make another one like this if I tried.  You can find it at 

ColorCatStudios101.etsy.com

Cat Print Giveaway Contest

You can join in my contest to get yourself a mask-wearing cat!

Go to Instagram and look me up as Color_Cat_Cindy and do the following:

I am giving away 20 original Masked Cat Prints! To get one:

1 - Go to my website, www.colorcatstudios101.etsy.com and choose your favorite piece of art

2 - Share this post and:

  a. Name your favorite art piece from my website

  c. Mention me in your comments (so I can keep track)

  d. I’ll add one entry for each share, and you’ll get an extra entry for each friend mentioned that also follows the above steps. You can share each day until May 31.

Contest closes on May 31.  At that time I will draw the 20 lucky ones.  Winners will be announced June 1.  Good luck!!

These are so lovely - I adore them! I carved the cat out of a linoleum block and have

been very busy print making!  Which one is your favorite?

Quarantine Lino Printing

My last post showed first prints with my newly finished lino block. This one shows how it looks on a color chart I made. 

Absolutely love the colors peeking through the black pattterns.

You can see in the third photo that I labeled the colors so I could tell how each interacted with the others. I like the layers, and even the words under it all. Do you?

Quarantined Artist

More Art versus Artist photos. I love this painting because it’s of one of our favorite cats ever. She actually looked exactly like this, well, except for the fact that she wasn’t green... or see-through.  Anyway, you can find more of my paintings at https://www.etsy.com/shop/ColorCatStudios101?ref=search_shop_redirect. It’s a good thing to check out while we’re all in quarantine!

Most of my art deals in layers, color and texture.  I really do love this piece. :)

Online Art Teacher

As long as we’re home, I might as well include you guys just a bit in my online art classes:

Japan is full of art! It’s not only in museums and galleries but right under your feet in the streets!  Aren’t they GORGEOUS???  My favorite is definitely the face.  And if anyone can figure out what that carwash looking one is, please let me know!

In the 80s someone came up with the idea of beautiful art on manhole covers to raise awareness and help pay for costly sewer projects.  Each city had art competitions for designs.  The designs usually speak about that which makes the city famous, for example if they make a certain product there or are famous for whale sitings.

The idea took off and soon cities were competing with each other for the best designs! Now there are manholes all over Japan and they are encouraging tourists and travelers to go to certain places to find special manholes!  Japan has been hard hit in the past years by acts of nature and these regions are creating special manholes to encourage tourists to come.  This will help with the rebuilding of these areas.

Even Pokemon has gotten into the game to help with disaster areas.  They want to encourage tourists to go see them.  Think about it… how could those Pokemon manhole covers help those places make money so they can rebuild?  (I wish WE had such pretty manhole covers!). They’re a delight, aren’t they? :)