I have some essplaining to do.....

I don't even know if I've ever watched a full episode of 'I love Lucy' but yet I can hear Desi saying 'You have some essplaining to dooooo!'.

If you follow this blog you know that I've sort of dropped off the face of the earth. I seem to do this in a bit of a cyclic fashion but this time there is a string of legitimate excuses. June has been a rough month for Cat-in-a-Box (not the actual cat.. he doesn't care, the whole world could collapse and he'd be happy as long as his food supply wasn't interrupted and he had a couple of humans around to apply his dorkiness to).

This is referred to as effective packing of kitties :)

In early June I attended a veterinary conference - which was great. It was actually a really good meeting and there was some great stuff presented. But traveling eats up time and despite having good intentions of posting to the blog and such, the conference really was pretty well all-consuming of my time for 1.5 week of the month.

Then upon return I contracted the obligatory travel-virus and felt crappy. A week of such illness is typical for me when I travel, but this was different - instead of sleep/tea/echinacea/gargling salt-water fixing it, a week later I felt as bad or worse. Another week and a course of antibiotics (I haven't been on antibiotics since about 2003!) and I felt better, but not quite 100%. And last night the throat started feeling suspiciously irritated again. So possibly another trip to the human doctor for me...*grumble*.

And on top of all of that we are in the process of moving (just locally - to a place where my studio will have way more natural light, yay!!). It may be the most painless move I've ever experienced but with the way I'm feeling this month it's just one more thing.

So those are my excuses - I've got a beautiful commission that is completed and will post as soon as it's delivered to the recipient (waiting on some framing materials). There *is* a winner for the June Desktopper contest who has been informed but is being graciously patient as I'm terribly behind on getting it finished. I have other works on the go and planned, things to blog about, a newsletter to put out, and so much else that is sitting on the ever-growing pile.

Desktopper for June - detail of the preliminary sketch

The best I can do at the moment is pick at the pile and try to keep (get?) healthy. So thanks for bearing with me - once the craziness has passed I will get more consistent with posting again!

~ Pam

Desktopper Contest WINNER!

First - thanks to everyone who entered the May contest!

Second - I'd like to happily announce the winner (by random draw) of my first Destopper Pet Portrait contest....*drumroll*.... Bailey!



Bailey Page is an adorable boy owned by Jon. Jon actually found my little contest in his endless search for things to enter - be sure to check out his website, it's highly entertaining!

According to Jon, they rescued Bailey from a shelter where he was slated to be euthanized. Here's what Jon has to say about his friend:

"My wife and I are convinced that he is a person trapped inside of a pup's body. In addition to his many outstanding qualities, such as destroying couches, we love his most obvious physical characteristic: his right-ear-up, left-ear-down combination."

I love it too - Bailey was a joy to paint, his personality just shines through!

Now since by the time I got my website updated and the blog posted last month there wasn't much space before the deadline, so I am going to carry the May entries over to June (you know who you are!).

And for anyone who didn't enter - now's the time, you have until June 20th! All you have to do is send an email to me with a few lines describing your pet and a photograph. The drawing is random and the next winner will be announced July 1st! Full details are on my website here.

(Hey, I think I can count Bailey in my 100 dogs challenge too!! Yay!)

Things I'm working on

I am working! Which is why I haven't been posting too much recently. Works-in-progress are really only fun to post after they are finished (but I am saving WIP shots of the current projects, so when they *are* done I can do a few play-by-play posts.

But just so you know I didn't fall in a coffee cup and drown, here's some sneak peaks of what's currently on the go in the studio....





And the painting for my first Desktopper Pet Portrait contest is underway! The winner will be announced on Tuesday and the painting will be posted. It's exciting! I absolutely loved reading the stories that came with each of the entries. And every single one of them was beautiful - they were all dogs this first month (though they don't have to be... cats, horses... heck, I could probably manage a gerbil if I had to... all are welcome!).

So check back in on Tuesday!

~ Pam

Desktopper Pet Portrait Contest!

Who:

Anyone can enter. You can enter once per month.

What:

The prize will be a free 5x7" ink painting of your pet based on the photo you submit. These smaller works fit into any standard 5x7" frame or mat and are the perfect size to sit on your desk!

When:

Once a month, every month, starting immediately! The deadline is the 20th of the month and the winner will be announced by the last day of the month.

The first deadline is May 20, 2010!

Where:

To enter just send an email to pam@catinaboxstudio.com or via my website contact sheet here. Include a digital photo of your pet and a short (like three lines) biography of your pet. If you have more than one photo you wish to send, go right ahead (but indicate which is your favorite!). If you don't have a digital photo then just send an email with the name and biography and I'll let you know where you can mail a real photo (don't worry, any real media images will be returned to you).

Why:

Why not? Truly, it's a fun way for me to drum up some interest in my website. It's also fun to have a little deadline to keep me on track!

And most of all, the whole reason I do pet portraits is based in my love of the human-animal bond. I find it so much more inspiring when I know the name and the 'story' behind the animal I'm painting. This contest is a way for me to get all kinds of wonderful stories!

Wait.. what else is there to this??:

Nothing! You don't have to subscribe to my newsletter or blog, you won't go on a mailing list, you will retain all copyrights to the photos you send and your information will not be given to anyone.

Now of course I'd like you to follow my newsletter or blog and tell all your friends to do so as well - but I don't care as much about numbers as having people who enjoy following my work involved, so this is really a means to try to get people to take a peek and then they can decide if they want to see more!