"All Good Cats Go to Heaven" -- oil on canvas -- 60x36" -- Margie Guyot

I did this one last summer and just realized I hadn't posted this. It all started with finding this fluffy pink prom dress in a garage sale. It was SO pretty, with rhinestones and sequins. Size 2, so it would never fit me, but I bought it to put into a painting or two.

While take a shower a day or so later, I had the idea to paint a surreal vision of a white fairy cat, wearing the "fairy dress", wielding a magic wand, surrounded by cats enjoying catnip and playing with little glowing orbs. The cat in the lower right corner is Matisse, my longhair cat who catches and eats red squirrels. My other cat, Elvis, is the gray tuxedo cat on the left side, about midway in the painting. On my bed I have a giant black jaguar, which I painted in the background, overlooking the cat fairy.

I'm entering this one into the Scarab Club's annual "Blooms, Bugs and Beasts" show tomorrow.

"Wild Mustard" -- plein air study -- oil on canvas -- 11x14" -- Margie Guyot

This morning started out chilly and rainy, but soon it cleared and my buddies and I could paint. We had driven to the Kensington Metropark Farm Center. Most people went down by the water, but my eye was caught by this bunch of wild mustard in bloom. It made me think of the time I was in the French Rivera in springtime. Entire mountainsides would be covered in this yellow mustard. This view is in a small valley, with "junk" trees growing at all angles. In between the wild mustard were succulent clumps of catnip plants. I snuck some leaves out for my cats at home.

"Plowed Field" -- plein air study -- oil on canvas -- 8x10" -- Margie Guyot

My friends and I were painting by the Kensington Farm Center this morning when I spied this field. I loved the exciting patterns formed by the plow. The trees are all getting their leaves and the colors in early spring are so interesting. I got interrupted by one of the workers, who wanted to clear out some straw that was in the foreground. Good thing I paint fast! I declared this painting done and got out of his way. They're planning on planting sorghum in this field and then cutting it to form a maze.

"Hazy Spring Afternoon" -- plein air study -- oil on canvas -- 11x14" -- Margie Guyot

Last Saturday was probably our first nice day in Michigan since October. My plein air buddies and I lined up along this quiet pond that was dotted in new water lily pads. The leaves were just beginning to pop out on the trees. Morels were springing up from the duff. Violets were blooming. The large carp, frisky with the arrival of mating season, were leaping out of the pond, snapping at hapless bugs on the surface. After the long winter and late-arriving spring, the warm sun was very welcome. But the sky was thinly overcast with a high layer of clouds, giving an overall muted cast to the landscape colors. Spring greens of opening willow leaves, oaks and beeches were soft olives, pea greens -- even with hints of maroon in the maple buds. Spring peppers were singing. Even an occasional clunk of a bullfrog rang out. In a few days, these high, thin clouds would bring us a torrential rainstorm.

I'd gotten behind on posting to this blog because my brother was visiting me. And gave me his horrible cold from hell!