A Free Coloring Page For My Friends

At the Window - an original Regency cat drawing by TaraFly

Last year, I was kicking around an idea to create a calendar using black and white sketches… since a large, full-color, hanging wall calendar would be very expensive to produce on my printer… (which explains why most Etsy artists are creating small desktop calendars or having them mass-printed elsewhere).

I thought it would be a neat idea to present this calendar of sketches like a coloring book, with a new character to decorate each month.
I know my kids would look forward to scribbling all over Mom’s calendar, and afterwards each piece could be kept and framed as wall art.

I know you’re thinking… “Sounds great! What happened?”

Although it didn’t come together as quickly as I’d planned, considering I had a dozen projects already in progress… I still intend to create the calendar for 2012, incorporating many of the drawings that I haven’t painted yet.
Some of them may never be completed otherwise.

Tonight I came across the blog of a children’s book author, Elizabeth Dulemba, who hosts “Coloring Book Tuesday” – making her own artwork downloadable for printing at home. Once her young readers finish coloring them, they may be scanned and e-mailed back to Jenn, who will display them on her blog.

I thought this was such a cool idea!! So I’ve decided to “borrow” it, hehe
I can’t promise a new drawing every week, but perhaps once or twice a month for starters.

“At The Window” is a digital drawing of a Regency kitty sitting at her window, with a book in her lap.  Perhaps she is waiting for a special visitor, or she’s watching the gentlemen hunting on the lawn.

She may be downloaded simply by clicking on the link above, or clicking on either of these two images shown in my post.

Click to Zoom and view the full-size file (which is 1600×2000, or 8″x10″ at 200ppi) … and then Right-click and save it to your computer.

An example of coloring At The Window.

She can be colored digitally, or printed out to decorate with crayons, markers, glitter, felt, fabric, and anything else you fancy!
I’d love to see what you do with her!

If you share your creation with me, I’ll post your artwork here on my blog and my Facebook fanpage.

Also, everyone who is featured will receive a $5.00 coupon for my Etsy shop (or my website, if you prefer)…

You may scan and post “At The Window”:
to your Facebook wall and tag me… (gotta friend me first! *wink*)…
my Fanpage wall – if you’re a fan…
upload it to Flickr or Photobucket…
or e-mail it to me directly.
(I’d be happy to help if you have trouble uploading it, just send me an e-mail).

If posting it anywhere online, please keep my name on it, so folks can search and find my other artwork easily. Thanks!

Enjoy this free coloring book drawing with “Many Thanks!” from me…
and please share this post with anyone you know who might like it, too!

I really appreciate everyone who supports my artwork, and makes this internet a fun, engaging place to be.

Confessions of a Crazy Cat Artist: Part 1

My cat Flicker all dressed for Communion ... (circa 1991)

I’ve been involved with every Protestant religion known to man or God at some point, and dabbled in a few earth-based religions as well, before deciding that the Universe and I would never agree. Not that my opinion holds much weight in the face of a Black Hole.

But for some reason, Catholicism has escaped me. Or rather, I’ve never set foot inside a Catholic church except to attend my cousin’s high school graduation.
(She went to one of those all-girls’ schools – St. Something-or-other – operated by nuns)

That isn’t to say that I haven’t done some homework on the subject however, especially with my love of ancient history and British literature. I also seemed to gravitate towards Catholic friends, unconsciously, and even married one. Although he was one of those wayward-types who doesn’t attend mass anymore.
But the mysteries and protocols surrounding their practice provide me with hours of curiosity…
And too many questions.

Take confessionals, for example. Simply put, you step into a phonebooth-style closet and discuss your sins with the priest behind the curtain, who as God’s appointed earthly emissary has been given the holy power of absolution… so he forgives you, and then requires that you repent with x-amount of prayers performed on a beaded necklace.   (My mother gave me a rosary as a child, but never taught me to use it).

What would happen if I suddenly decided to confess… would I be bound to recall every sin I’d committed in the last 25 years?  I’m almost 31 years old, but apparently the first 5 years don’t count against me.
….Or is the age of reason seven years?   (I’m afraid to Google it and become sidetracked for 3 hours reading articles on Thomas Paine)

Lord, there have been so many regrets and bad decisions made in the last 10 years alone… it would be a very daunting task indeed to list them all, and just imagine, I’d probably be praying on beads for the next 30 years.

When I was studying Latin, I got a kick out of watching the Catholic TV channel. It was a fun challenge to keep pace with the sermons, and every time I could successfully translate phrases like “tertia die resurrexit a mortuis, ascendit ad caelos, sedet ad dexteram Dei Patris omnipotentis”   I would squeal with excitement.
I imagined the priest and I had our own secret language.