Siamese Cat in the Garden

Siamese Cat in the Garden – acrylic painting by Heni Sandoval

Siamese Cat in the Garden is new addition to my cat still life series.  After viewing the last painting of the black cat next to the fish pitcher my sister told me a funny story about her siamese cat who was lapping water in a an asian ceramic bowl that suddenly noticed the large fish painted inside and jumped back in fright.  That got me thinking about adding a new painting with a siamese cat.

I’ve done a number of lotus paintings;  I find them beautiful, the colors and they way the blossoms float above large pads. I thought it made sense to add lotuses to a asian garden theme painting with the siamese cat. I also alluded once again to the cat looking at the  large container decorated with catfish.

Many years ago when my twin sister and I were in second grade, a little siamese cat appeared in our yard and adopted our family to live with.   We named her Thai Pung, she was very sweet and full of fun.  She was probably just under a year old and soon we found out she was pregnant.  At that time my twin sister and I shared a double bed and one morning we awoke to see Ti Pung with four little kittens that she had given birth to during the night right in between us.  As an adult, I’ve wondered why she chose our bed.  She didn’t stay with us much longer, my parents must have given her away along with the kittens.

Because of her I’ve always loved Siamese cats, they are smart and vocal.  I enjoyed doing the painting, there were several elements that I had to pull together.  I’m relatively pleased and I now have six cat and floral images for my note cards.

Pink Lotus Flower

Pink Lotus Flower -acrylic painting by Heni Sandoval

I felt drawn to paint a lotus this week because of it’s meaning.  The lotus flower symbolizes rising from a dark space into a place of beauty and rebirth.  Lotus flowers grow out of muddy and murky water and produce beautiful blossoms. They are a symbol of strength among adversity.   It’s been a couple of tough weeks for me emotionally but I’m starting to feel better.  The lotus reminds me that sometimes when we go through a dark period something beautiful can come about in time.

Pink Lotus Flower is my fourth  lotus painting and with this one I wanted to emphasis the flower coming up from the dark with  the the light shining  from above.      I am pleased with it, I like the contrast of the lights and darks.  I tried to capture the way the lotus seems to glow in the sunlight.  My hope is that all will feel more uplifted as we enter the December holiday season.

 

 

Water Lilies with Pink Lotus

 

Water Lilies with Pink Lotus – acrylic painting by Heni Sandoval

Water Lilies with Pink Lotus is my most recent painting. I got the idea to paint a new lotus from a woman who saw the lotus prints in my Circles Round the Sun Etsy shop   She liked my style but wanted a print that focused on the water lilies as she her new baby girl is going to be named Lily and she wanted it to help decorate her nursery.   I thought that was a sweet idea and so I decided to paint  a water lily pond scene. I think it has turned out fairly well and I’m hoping that she will be pleased.