Black & Blue

A Cat Poem


I am the queen of the castle,
I’ve earned my place on the throne.
I deliver goods to my people,
Be it feather, or fur, or bone.

My enemies cry for attention,
In the darkness they growl and mew.
I chase them down the alleyway,
Until my paws are black and blue.

I am the queen of the castle,
I’ve gained full access to the inside.
I nap, I nibble, and roll in the yard,
My coat of dirt is worn with pride.

I’m resting now, in this blanket of fluff,
Now go, please let me be.
I know you yearn for affection,
But all I have is complacency.


So, our cat Gypsy belongs to my son and she lives in the back unit with him. She never used to hang out in the house, but recently she discovered that my super warm Pendleton blanket is also super cozy. This was how I found her today; covered in dirt from head to paw (minus the oil paint effect that I added to tone the filth down a notch).

She reminded me of Pigpen from Charlie Brown. The dark patch on her face is actually the only spot that was clean and untarnished. Isn’t she a ham!? I’m sure she just spent time rolling in the dirt, as usual, but I thought she looked rough – like she’d been in a fight. Hence, the “B” words came to mind for my Alphabet Game – Black and Blue.

I suppose we can just cross off another – using “C” for Cat, so that’s three down and twenty three to go! I shot the pic with my iPhone and then used BeCasso to add the oil paint effect. Anyway, that’s about all for now… I hope you enjoyed!

See you around soon for the letter “D.”

Moving On…


No moss at my feet,

Never steady… got to move…

Train keeps a rollin’.


I thought I’d try something different with illustration so I decided on a train. This one took me two days, so it was no walk in the park!

I’ve been taking a break from writing because I’m trying to spread my focus into many areas so that I’m not obsessing on just one thing.

Speaking of obsessing, during my time away I read the book CHAOS: Charles Manson, the CIA, and the Secret History of the Sixties, by Tom O’Neill. Continue reading →

Fantasy Dance


Vivid mirages,

Boundless energy erupts,

Kind of magical.


I have to say that this new style is pretty addictive. I get to use much more of my imagination when using brushes, and there are so many to choose from. The leaves are actually a leaf or palm style brush, painted in white so that they merge into the background.

After I painted the woman, I moved her to my iPhone for a little more paint effect and some much brighter colors. Then I combined the original and the jazzy version, and added some transparency to see more detail in her face – which then created the ‘double vision’ look around her upper body, which kind of reminds me of movement.

One of the reasons the dancers and flowing skirts are so fun is because – even if ever so briefly – I get to live (and dance) vicariously through these ladies.

Anyway, I’m happy that I was finally able to complete the Ronovan Writes Haiku Challenge: Kind & Vivid which kind of conveys my thoughts about this ‘living vicariously through my images’ idea. Like the haiku says… it’s kind of magical.

That’s about all for now. Thanks for reading, or viewing… I hope you enjoyed!

Until later,
-Janet