Many of the animals whose portraits I am commissioned to paint come from humble beginnings. Often, a pet who has been rescued from dire circumstances becomes a beloved pet, and the humans whose lives are touched by it ask me to paint the animal’s portrait.
Few, however, have as compelling a story as my most recent subject, Claude.
Claude is a blind white cat who lives in Phoenix, AZ. He once was part of a feral cat colony tended by two dedicated human caregivers who continue to feed the group and ensure that all of the cats are neutered. As one of his caregivers, Kate tells it:
One day I noticed that Claude was running into things and couldn’t find his way through the hole in the fence where we feed them. He had recently had a big wound on the side of his head and that is probably what caused him to loose his sight.
I was able to pet him when he was eating so I scooped him up and brought him inside. I’m the only one who can pet him and only if the moment is right and I approach him from the right angle. But once I start petting him he loves it! He’s been in the studio for two years now and he’s fat and happy! Well, as happy as a grumpy cat can be…
Living on the streets in a feral colony is not an easy life for a cat. Being blind and on the street is a tragedy waiting to happen. Thankfully, Claude had a savior, and he now lives a great life indoors.
But the story does not end there.
Claude did not stumble his way into just any studio. He found his way into the studio of Kate Benjamin, Cat Style Expert, founder of cat style website Hauspanther, and recently honored New York Times Best-selling Author for her co-authored book Catification with Jackson Galaxy.
Claude is not only living a life of comfort now. He is living in style!
Although he cannot see the great colors in the cat bed upon which he lounges in his portrait, he certainly knows that he is of value, and that his caregiver loves him deeply. He has clearly “catified” his domain, and I am certain he has had the opportunity to test out some of the most fabulous cat style products available on the market.
Catification, in case you wondered, “is about creating feline-friendly environments that cater to a cat’s natural instincts to climb, perch, rest, play, and own their space.” It is as much about creating a home environment that allows for cats’natural behavior as it is about creating a stylish dwelling for cat lovers.
I have known Claude’s caretaker Kate for a few years, and I have admired her style and unique knowledge about cats. Her partnership with Jackson Galaxy of Animal Planet’s My Cat From Hell not only brings an element of celebrity to her work, it also brings a mix of style and knowledge about cat behavior to people who desire the best for their cats. Kate has been featured in various media, includingThe New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, USA Today, NY Daily News, and CBS Sunday Morning, and she often is a guest on Animal Planet’s My Cat From Hell with cat behaviorist Jackson Galaxy.
Beyond all of that, Kate is a wonderful person who lives a life dedicated to her own 12 cats, as well those beloved by many around the world.
“I would like to see every cat in a happy, loving, forever home, and I want to keep them there through design.”~Kate Benjamin
Painting Claude’s portrait was a privilege. I cannot wait to see the painting take it’s place in such a wonderfully catified space!
Interested in a portrait of your pet? Click here for more information.
When I tell people that I am an artist, I often get the reply, “I can’t even draw a straight line.” For some reason, people feel the need to share their perceived artistic incompetence with me when I tell them that I am an artist by profession.
It is curious to me. I don’t tell doctors that I have no medical background when I meet them, nor do I tell computer programmers, teachers, engineers, plumbers, or other professionals that I lack skill in their discipline. So why do people feel the need to disqualify their artistic bonafides to me?
Perhaps it is because we all create art as children, and as we grow older, only the ones who demonstrate skill and passion for art stick with it. Regardless of the reason, I have found that many people want to create art, despite having what they view as limited ability. They dismiss the urge, however, because they fear that they will fail to meet their own, or other’s, expectations.
Young children have fewer expectations, so when they create, they explore, engage and enjoy the process. The process of creating is full of wonder for children, and despite their struggles to make what they consider to be a worthy art object, they are much more free and unencumbered in the process.
Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once we grow up. ~ Pablo Picasso
When I teach art classes for adults, I do not teach mastery or technical skill. I teach wonder and expression. My goal as an art teacher for adults is to help them return to that childhood wonder in the creative process so that they are free to engage in art as an enriching activity.
Certainly, I guide them through the process of creating an image using materials and artistic techniques. I give them instructions on specific techniques, and I guide them in the characteristics of artistic media. But more than anything, I give them encouragement, and I help them broaden their expectations so that they do not box themselves into too few acceptable outcomes.
I teach my adult students to return to their childhood wonder so that they can, again, explore, engage and enjoy the process.
The first step for the class is convincing people that they can do it.
I was talking to a prospective student the other night who shared her misgivings with me about her ability to accomplish anything in the class. “I want to do your class next weekend, but I don’t think I can,” she said. “How come?” I asked, thinking she had some other commitment. “Because I don’t think I am a good enough painter,” she replied.
My response? “You can do this. it does not require any great skill or mastery. Just a desire to create. The only reason you can’t do it is if you have another commitment.”
She was surprised at my response, but still unsure. I hope she comes to the class. She will surprise herself at what she can do. I am certain of it.
Creating great art is not about drawing straight lines. Truth be told, I can’t draw a straight line either. I have to use a ruler every time I draw one! Creating great art is about exploring, engaging and enjoying the process of creation.
Want to see? There’s still time to sign up for my Art Mini-Retreat for next Saturday (10/18/14). And stay tuned if you are too far away to come to the studio. I will be offering some online classes in the future.
Yes, the drug acted quickly and effectively, but I had the best impression from sex that lasted 3.5 hours!
Palace Theater Canton Arts District (Digital art by BZTAT)
Everywhere you turn these days there is an arts district. The word is out – if you have a declining downtown, develop an arts district to revive it.
Some cities have been strategic in this process, and some have done it in a half-hearted and haphazard way. Regardless of how it is happening, though, it is happening all over.
This should be a good thing for artists, right?
Yes and no.
It is a good thing because it brings attention and awareness to the arts and artists. Increased visibility is helpful in many regards, and the community awareness can energize artists in many creative ways. There is a fallacy, however, that more attention and awareness automatically leads to profitability and sustainability for artists.
It does not. In fact, in some ways, it can reduce profitability.
More people enjoying a community’s arts offerings does not necessarily increase patronage of the arts, where people are actively purchasing arts products on an ongoing basis. Donations towards arts organizations may increase, but that does not always translate to sustainable business for individual artists. In fact, the opposite can happen. There can be a plethora of arts offerings, but no significant financial reward for the artists, costing the community very little but the artists a lot. When there are numerous artists but few people who actually buy art or purchase tickets to performances in a community, the artists lose out.
Tom Wachunas, writer of ARTWACH and local arts critic in my home area of Stark County, Ohio, sounded a warning call this week about the sustainability of the Canton Arts District, which by many standards, has been a very successful arts and business corridor partnership.
According to Tom, the Canton Arts District is in peril as a “a serious contender in the business of being a sustainable tourist destination through an enriching, relevant art gallery corridor” if the public’s awareness and investment in individual artists’ efforts is not increased.
I would agree with Tom – if that was the goal.
I am not certain that Canton and other cities truly expect their arts districts to become sustainable tourist destinations through enriching, relevant art gallery corridors. I suspect that the goal is more to bring interest and to increase activity to designated areas, and then transition the arts districts to entertainment districts, which are more easily sustained. Truthfully, that is already happening in Canton.
The reality is, arts districts are not necessarily about the arts. Arts districts are about bringing interest to blighted areas so that said areas can be redeveloped for economic benefit. That economic benefit is not necessarily for the artists who jazz the place up and make it interesting.
Arts districts are all about money, quite honestly, and that money does not necessarily fall into the hands of the artists who invest themselves in their communities.
Arts districts are developed as a step in the process of gentrification, a strategic plan of transitioning urban districts of declining property values towards wealthier residents and higher property values. It is a given in the gentrification process that artists who initially take advantage of low rents and “nowhere but up” standards will typically be forced out as property values increase.
That may seem like a cynical view, and I guess it is in some ways. It is a realistic view, in my opinion.
Having said that, I do not think that all is bleak for artists. Artists can position themselves to be taken advantage of, or they can position themselves to take advantage of the opportunities available to them from the process.
I prefer the latter.
The expectations created in artists through arts corridor developments can be wildly unrealistic. Still yet, if kept in perspective, artists can take advantage of opportunity while otherwise developing their careers for profitable sustainability.
I knew when I moved to downtown Canton in 2007, when the Canton Arts District was just being formed, that eventually I would leave. I knew that the opportunities that existed at that time were temporary, and I knew that the process of gentrification would eventually push me out. I had my idealism, and I fought the process. But I knew what was going on. (I did move out in 2013. I still maintain a presence with a small space in Second April Galerie, but my home is elsewhere.)
In those early days, I benefited from special project grants, public art commissions and early interest in purchasing art from the gallery district. I benefited from low rent from an exceptionally lenient landlord who gave me more chances than he probably should have done. Those opportunities are not as readily available now as they were when the district was new.
I am not going to lie – I do miss having those opportunities that used to be there.
Still yet, I never have relied solely on local gallery traffic to build my business as an artist. While I was involved in the development of the Canton Arts District, I was also building a global presence online, developing my brand and my stature as an artist in a much bigger community. I not only applied my creativity to my artistic works, I applied it to marketing and other aspects of building my business as well.
I am often amazed at how artists can be the vanguard of so many ideas and images, yet be so backward when it comes to monetizing their presence in the world of business. The world of business and the world of web technology is intimidating to many artists, and thus, they avoid it like the plague.
I tend to be curious about web technology, myself. But monetizing my creativity in a world of business? Yeah, that is tough for me. I recognize that it is is essential, though, and I am endeavoring to become more successful with it.
Artists cannot simply assume that others will create a demand for their artistic works and develop profitability for them. They must also recognize that the development of arts districts is not just for them.
Artists are generous people. We tend to care for our communities and we want to give in order to see our communities succeed. But we want to succeed ourselves, as well. In order to avoid the experience of being left behind and feeling taken advantage of, we need to evolve ourselves as the gentrification process takes hold. We need to recognize that we must put ourselves in the position of being relevant, and we need to develop our creativity around the ecology within which it exists. We need to accept that arts districts do not guarantee that people will purchase our creative works, so we must do more to ensure our survival as we contribute to our community’s culture.
How do we do that? Each artist needs to decide that for him or herself.
I am currently developing a plan for myself as I evolve and change with my local and global community. Stay tuned. I will be sharing more about that soon.
If you are an artist, how will you evolve? If you are not an artist, but want to see creative people thrive in your community, how can you help them evolve?
