30 January 2006

Glamour Puss


The other day, I came by a little white cat mucking her way across the muddy road that runs by my apartment. She was wearing a rhinestone-studded collar. She couldn’t have weighed more than 6 pounds - I think the collar must’ve weighed 2. But she looked like she was born to bear it.

Picking her way daintily through the sludge, she looked like she was wearing four muddy little boots. With each step, she shook her tiny paws with such prissy annoyance, that I couldn’t help laughing out loud at the site of her. And when I did, she stopped mid-step for maybe a second. But then continued with her trek without even looking back at me…and I could swear she stiffened her back.

53 comments:

The Unknown said...

Great illustration and story. Wonderful stuff as always.
My black box is getting longer.
love

Anonymous said...

Glamorous indeed! She is a shining beauty - love the textures and layers :)

Anonymous said...

Beautiful illustration, I adore it and I love cats!

Catnapping said...

unknown: i hope you're wearing a long shirt!

anonymous: thank you! I made the texture of the kitty by adding noise, dilating it, and then "finding all lines." I love Paintshop Pro! I may never go back to a pen again! (i bullshit).

stephanie: I love cats, too. I hope that when I'm old I have at least 20 of them living with me. I want to be that lady the neighbors talk about. Except my cats will all be spayed and neutered. Of course, everyone already knows this, which is probably why a lot of the male cats don't come to close to the door...

Catnapping said...

p.s. I also added squigglies to my little white kitty trying to make her look not so plain.

Anonymous said...

This is a good omen for me as Glamourpuss (the racehorse) will be resuming shortly here in Australia...let the winning and glamourous times continue,

Detlef
http://www.detlefjumpertz.com

Grace Garton said...

Lovely illustration I would never have guessed that is was done on computer! But don't you miss your hands getting dirty?
I work on a computer all day illustrating and look forward to getting home where I can get dirty with my pens and charcoal:)

Caroline said...

Great story and wonderfully glamourous illustration!

Reminds me that Puss in boots always was one of my favourite pantomine characters. (Its one of the charaters that is traditionally male but played by a young glamorous female... we have strange traditions here...)

Anonymous said...

so glam and prissy! i love the layers and background.

Sandy said...

Oh! I love glamorous puss. She is simply divine. I love how her eyes are the same colour as her other jewels and those gold whiskers, quite lovely.

Catnapping: snort, snicker!

Glamorous Puss: What? Was that a snicker I hear? Well!!! Bow down to me you lowly peasant, Catnapping and btw, take a picture, it'd last longer and fyi, this is not mud on my paws, you just think it is...sniff.

uh oh, I feel a haiku coming on...

Most Glamorous Puss
bears her jewels in regalness
no time for peasants

S

p.s. unknown's box...is...black? LOL

me

bigshoulders said...

i can see that glamorous puss right now! what a wonderful anecdote. the accompanying image is very striking. i'm glad i stumbled in!

bigshoulders

virginiavalle.blogspot.com said...

Now Im the first to leave comment ;).
Beautiful,she is a glamorous cat :).. Love the textures too !!!

Anonymous said...

detlef: hmmm. i wonder if i should get a finder's fee...

blackcrow: i probably prefer pencil and paper, but in the last few months have come to discover the fun of this new toy.

caroline: omg. puss~n~boots! i think we women do a better job in the part, cuz of the boots. those high boots are hot!

lukewarmluxe: thank you. it came out more like a collage than a drawing. my favorite is the tailring i put on her.

Sandy: i think cats would make great republicans.

bigshoulders: first, may i say that i really like your name. i don't see too many glamour pusses in my neighborhood, though several wannabes have wandered through...

virginiajoe: is it my imagination, or are white cats prissier than most? i wonder if it's genetic...

andrea said...

I love this! I had a friend once who wore gumboots with a decrepitly ancient mink coat. It works, dahling...

Unknown said...

I love how you did your glamour kitty and a great story to go with it.

Alison Ashwell said...

very sweet and definitely glam!

Twisselman said...

Once again, a great post. Textures, colors, and everything. Really like the story. Both the story and the illustration capture the essence of cats and their kitty-type glamour. Nice all 'round.

AscenderRisesAbove said...

Love the wallpaper! and the attitude of the cat!

Paul Tuller said...

very creative - that looks like one happy kitty cat

Unknown said...

this is very creative and beautiful!

merlinprincesse said...

Golden whiskers... THAT is glamour!!! :o)

carla said...

What a great story...it's a picture in itself! I love how you depicted the cat with her collar and boots...very elegant and glamorous!

String said...

This one made me laugh out loud! Lovely.

isay said...

wow! how i wished i ahve seen her too thanks for sharing it.

This is the most glamorous cat I have ever seen. I like it so much. you have done a terrific job. i love everything about it.

valerie walsh said...

this is the most wonderful idea and illo! I just love it and the story!!! Great work

Tony LaRocca said...

All cats need to accessorize.

Jaimie said...

This is a wonderful illustration and such a funny story. I could picture it perfectly.

Joy Eliz said...

Love this picture, really love the story. Cats are so funny. And you know they don't want to be.

Ellen said...

Simply fantastic work!

Saul Iscariot said...

Truely great stuff, I'm not a fan of cats, but your tale and pic are a great reminder of the positive fun that can be had from cats.

Amy Zaleski said...

I love the story and this is such a unique illustration style!!

Anonymous said...

You have a delightful site!:)

Kay Aker said...

Such a perfect confluence of elements. Beautiful to behold!

TXArtcGal said...

LOVE it!! The story is great too! Definitely glamourous!

RedT0pMedusa said...

cats can be very prissy and the one you describe sounds just like my ex boyfriend. hehe.... i turned him to stone.

love the pretty kitty she's very plushy looking

Catnapping said...

andrea: gumboots goes mit ehvrytink dahlink.

alison, toni, and twisselman: thank you, thank you, thank you!

AscenderRisesAbove: attitude? what attitude? lol

tintagua: i love cats, and this is probably why.

paul sketch: hehehe...call it poetic license. she wasn't so happy when i saw her.

thank you, alina.

merlinprincess: i thought gold would go nicely with the boots...same colour family an' all. oyp.

Catnapping said...

carla, string, isay, and valgal: thank you. it was fun making her.

tony: cat's make great accessories too.

violetismycolor: I had a blast making textures, and messing with layers.

ellen and gothamimage: thank you.

jaimie and joy: it's hilarious watching the rich and snobby fall, ya know? i get a secret pleasure seeing a run in the stocking of someone who's just snubbed a homeless man

saul: if you've come from this with an appreciation for the usefulness of cats, then i'd say this has been a successful IF.

amy and scribblesk: thank you, i like conflooing. And this is a great place to do it!

Dana S. Whitney said...

So glad you commented... your illos are fun, funny and very well done. I've seen cats do the muddy feet tap dance plenty of times.

Catnapping said...

texartcgal: thank you!

redtopmedussa: i experimented with some texturizing...still working on that one...but i kinda like the way her "fur" turned out.

sultrypainterwoman: when i was a little girl, my dad put scraps of fabric on our cat's feet with rubber bands. it was hilarious to watch him try to shake them off. but i think it embarrassed him more than annoyed him, so i removed the cloth and bands.

I love the way cats behave. They're one of my favorite animals. So much personality. So much more that some men I've dated!

Thank you for your comments.

garth bruner said...

I can totally see a cat doing that like a real princess! LOL. This is a great illo!

CRISTOSOVA said...

Wow, she really is quite the Glamour Puss! Her mustache is just brilliant. Love the story, too!

Tony Sarrecchia said...

Great illo. Love the story. Cats can be such little prisses sometimes.

Pusha V said...

Now that is nice! I like the boots.

Katili said...

Charming Puss with the boots and all, a reaaly well done picture with a lot of warm humour and good heart. Thank you for sharing this !

elegraph said...

love the story, but you've made your cat way too adorable to be prissy. i love the galoshes.

Hellcat said...

That single earring is ever so glam!

MC* said...

Lovely :D

LDahl said...

I'm gone a little while and look what I've missed! Toooo fun!!
Nothing could be finer than a feliner all "decked" out:)))
Love it!

Courtney Pippin-Mathur said...

I love this cat! Isn't it funny how a cat can level you with a look?

Chuang Shyue Chou said...

The daintly little boots are so lovable! Hahahahah!

Anonymous said...

Wonderful illustration!

Alexandra Boiger Illustration said...

I love this post. Very nice. And unbelievable you did it with the compter.

Andrea said...

glorious!