Poe and her Mama Bailey, #2

A "sketch" from a photo. It got away from me. Veered right off from "sketch" into full blown watercolor mini-painting. That's what happens when you work from a photo and not from the subject at the moment. 

Dog at WAIF - "Please take me home!" by Susan Jensen

Cats at WAiF - "Please Adopt Us" by Susan Jensen

Poe and her mama Bailey, at WAIF

Waif was not a good place for me to go on Friday. Especially in my current frame of mind. I am still bleeding internally for the separation of these two.

Doing a WHOLE LOT of catching up on posting . . . . .

Here are two of the herd at Paradise Found. I think they are both Alpacas, but I really don't know. They are just both sweet and have big eyes with 
LONG lashes . . . 

. . . and here are two of the kitties from the WAIF Cat Adoption Center in Oak Harbor. 

Oak Harbor Cat Adoption Center

We had a wonderful, relaxed afternoon sketching cats at WAIF's Oak Harbor Cat Adoption Center today. We were SO impressed with the friendly staff, volunteers and the quiet, uncrowded, odorless, relaxed environment. Most of the cats had a green cube in their kennel where they could hide from prying eyes if they wanted to be alone. Great idea for reducing the stress of shelter life. Kudos to WAIF. We love hanging out with animals and animal lovers.  Here are just a few of the furry friends we made today.

They each have their own kennel, but they like to hang out together. If you meow at Mew Mew, she answers.

Love the attitude. Seems pretty proud of those big white paws. Maybe he's saying "See? No claws."

Daffodil has been in the shelter a year - too long! Could a girl get a break?

Dartanian has amazing green eyes that are particularly stunning against his green cube. He gave me a good swat when I reached inside his kennel.  Could be why he's been there 2 years?? Jeez.

Freeland Cat Cottage

Hardly anyone showed up to sketch kitties at the Freeland Cat Cottage yesterday. Just Sherryl, Pat, Julie and me. Well, the boys showed up but they sat outside in the cold to draw buildings. After a couple of hours of playing with cats and getting nowhere trying to sketch them, this shy kitten finally curled up and fell asleep in his hammock, allowing me to get one creditable sketch to show for the afternoon. These cat hammocks are really cozy. The cats love them.

 This sweet little guy was found alone and abandoned in Coupeville. He was very young and didn't get to spend enough time with his mom and litter mates before being cast out on his own. He will need extra tlc to get socialized. He is unfortunately the only kitten at the Cat Cottage so doesn't have feline playmates.

Coho at the Freeland Cat Cottage

The cats at WAIF were adorable. Coho was very patient with all the attention I gave her.

Waif's Cat Cottage

Here are my Cat Cottage sketches. Michelle is the first. What a sweetheart and darling. A character! This is not a good sketch of her, but wanted to include her since she's a doll and needs a home.


This is Melissa. She's beautiful! She would do best in a quiet home with a loving person to bring her out.


A watercolor of Coho.


A brush Drawing of Coho. A lovely, sweet quiet kitty.


Two beautiful black cats. Both sweet hearts. Honey pies, all!

Freeland Cat Cottage

Some of the sketchers spent some time at WAIF's Freeland Cat Adoption Center yesterday afternoon. We oohed and aahed and fawned over all the kitties, made some videos for the WAIF facebook page and even did some sketching.

Here's Chloe, a gorgeous long-haired Calico curled up on her plush animal-print bed. She looks smashing in it. She's clearly a top-drawer sort of cat.

Melissa is a sweet, shy Calico having an afternoon nap by the window. She's been at the shelter for a long time. Calicos are generally in high demand, but Melissa never gets chosen by adopters because she shies away from people. She was found living under a porch with another cat and clearly didn't have a chance to bond with people in her formative years. But she can be handled and petted and is not agressive, just scared. Surely there's a home out there that's just right for Melissa. 

And below her is big Michelle, who decided to leave almost as soon as I started my sketch, so I didn't get much. She's a character - not shy at all - and not as fat as I made her look. If she were human, she would not be pleased about the extra pounds I put on her!