Artist Hideout

Artists and Cats

by William Lehman on October 20th, 2006

Okay, maybe it’s a bias or some other type of thing, but it seems to me that most people who claim the title artist also own cats or are at least animal lovers. Most, not all. Why? Well here are a few reasons.

Cats are individual.

I have two cats. Keena and Elijah. Elijah is two years old, and Keena is about 6 months. They play, they romp, and sometimes can drive me nuts actually. Elijah is very docile and likes his private space, but is more prone to crawl up on your lap while you are watching a movie or sleep up on the bed with my wife and I. Keena on the other hand is very playful, and will attack you when you walk just to get noticed. When she wants petted, you know it. She is also the one who gets into trouble more often. Keena is a lot more like my wife, while Elijah is a lot more like me.

Cats usually like movement.

Laser pointers and cats is probably the most fun thing you can do with a cat. But really…

anything that moves is fair game. Now many people I know who are artists don’t really like their art to be “just there”. They want your eye to follow something, or are imaginative with their use of color to draw the eye to a certain place or thing. We play with paint like they play with toys. Gently at times and sometimes not so gently.

Preening is encouraged.

Maybe not so much on the physical end of the spectrum as cats, but we are often prideful of what we have accomplished. We like people to look. We like the attention. We may not take compliments well like myself, but we still desire to be noticed somehow. Art is about expression of who we are. People can often see us more clearly through our art than even in person.

Cats are stubborn.

I had to put this out there. I had to give my cats some pills the other day. Next time, I am going to tell the vet that she needs to do it and then watch her get mad at Elijah who clamps his mouth shut and claws anything that moves. He is not that bad even in a bath. I must admit that I can be very stubborn at times too. I like my way better than anyone else. This can be very bad at times.

Cats are creative.

Finally, this is very true. I’ve seen more ways of hiding with my two cats then I’ve ever seen in a child even. Cats can get into the weirdest places without you ever knowing it. My dad once lost a cat in the house. After giving up that morning, he went to work, he came back and went to do laundry. One of his cats was sleeping in the tub in the washing machine. He had closed the lid that morning because he was folding shirts on the top of the washer. Apparently, the cat just slept all day there. Anyone who owns a cat can probably give more examples of this as well. As an artist we like to find alternatives for doing things as well. Something different, something unique. We like to take the ordinary and mundane and make it our own.

Tags: art, artist, arts & crafts, cat, cats, drawing

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POSTED IN: Brain Shavings