Work in progress - "Dark Cloud over Paradise Valley" C Caton

I don't normally post pictures before they are completed - mainly because I really hate cameras - But I have been working on this larger painting for a while now, and thought I'd share it's progress.

"Dark Cloud Over Paradise Valley" by C Caton - work in progress August 2014  One persons paradise is another's hell....

It's 24"x 36" and I'm not yet sure if it will be for sale anytime soon - may hang on to it for awhile.  I will post it again when it's finished!

Another oldie from 2008 - "Faithful Friend" by C Caton

"Faithful Friend" By C Caton, 2008

Here we have the kitty delivering flowers to his dearly departed friends, loving and missing them still.  He's swiped a few from the bush outside of the cemetary wall.   Done with watercolors and the Derwent Watercolor Pencils in 2008, and is in my own collection.

It's a long story, and I don't know if anyone cares, but if you do then read on -

My dad always loved cats, but we'd never had any pets when I was little until I brought home a kitten when I was 10 years old.   That cat lived to be 23 years old, dying when I was 33!  I couldn't possibly take her with me when I moved out in my early 20's,  with dad being as attached to her as he was, and so she had been his faithful friend all of those years. 

When she passed away, he made her a casket and buried her in the backyard with a headstone that read "Little Cat" A Faithful Friend for 23 Years".

Time went on, and they had "Big Kitty" then "White Kitty" and "Gray Kitty".  When Dad became very ill back in 2008, I went by the house on the way to the hospital to take care of the kitty, and I was really struck by how upset he was.  It was obvious that he very much missed my dad, going to his favorite chair and letting out the loudest meow.

That was the inspiration for this painting back in 2008, though Dad did recover that time.

My dad passed away January 2012, and it has been the same with "Gray Kitty" this time.   Mom says that he still seems to be looking for Dad...

**I had originally intended to make this blog something of a timeline of my work - It hasn't quite worked out that way, but I've been trying to add in some of my first work as time allows.

"Where the Deer and the Antelope Play" By C Caton

"Where the Deer and the Antelope Play" painting by C Caton - SOLD

A tip of the hat to Dr. Brewster Higley, who first penned his now famous poem back in the early 1870's.  I would imagine that he would be beyond surprised to know that we enjoy it still!

I believe that this was his original -

The Western Home

Oh, give me a home where the buffalo roam,
  Where the deer and the antelope play;
  Where never is heard a discouraging word
     And the sky is not clouded all day.

Oh, give me the gale of the Solomon vale
  Where life streams with buoyancy flow,
  On the banks of the Beaver, where seldom if ever
     Any poisonous herbage doth grow.

Oh, give me the land where the bright diamond sand
   Throws light from the glittering stream;
   Where glideth along the graceful white swan,
      Like a maid in her heavenly dreams.

I love these wild flowers in this bright land of our;
   I love, too, the curlew's wild scream.
   The bluffs of white rocks and antelope flocks
     That graze on the hillsides so green.

How often at night, when the heavens are bright
   By the light of the glittering stars,
   Have I stood there amazed  and asked as I gazed
      If their beauty exceeds this of ours.   

The air is so pure, the breezes so light,
   The zephyrs so balmy at night,
   I would not exchange my home here to range
      Forever in azure so bright.

The original poem by Brewster Higley

While I like the song, I must confess that I am partial to the original poem, and it was the inspiration for this painting.

"A Bad Year For Corn" By C Caton

"A Bad Year For Corn"  -  Corn country has been having a bad time of it this year - with the drought about all that's thriving are the weeds.  Sadly, hard work isn't always all it takes - sometimes you need a fair amount of luck as well.   SOLD

Completed July 2012 

"Fresh Eggs! Ripe Tomatoes!"

"Fresh Eggs!  Ripe Tomatoes!"  by C Caton, June 2012
It's summertime in the country, and this little girl is setting up her egg and tomato stand in front of her family home!  SOLD

"The Things that I Need"

"The Things that I Need" By C Caton, June 2012

I've just completed this one, and also a poem to go with it -

"The Things that I Need"

These are the things that I need today -

A sturdy roof and a place to play.

A plot of clear ground and some seeds to sow,

Then the time to sit back and watch them grow.

A swing in the tree for hours of fun,

To relax and unwind when my work's all done.

These are the things that I need today -

And it's all right here, so here I'll stay!

By C Caton, 2012

SOLD

(To see close-ups, just click on the pictures)

Another old one - "The Straight and Narrow Path"

"The Straight and Narrow Path" By C Caton, 2008

I was searching through some discs tonight, and stumbled across some photos of my early watercolors (watercolor and watercolor pencil).

I actually still have this one!  It is from 2008, and was one of my very earliest ones...hard to believe that it's only been 4 years, seems like so long ago.

"Towards Tomorrow"

"Towards Tomorrow" - If you leave out all of the drama, trauma, and complications, what you're left with is an uncomplicated, peaceful prairie sunset with the cows and you looking on towards tomorrow!

  Completed May 2012

I'm having a dreadful time photographing this one, and I'm afraid that in spite of my best efforts there is still some glare. 

"An Evening Stroll"

"An Evening Stroll" - It's a beautiful evening, and the cowboy and his lady are just heading out for a stroll!
Completed May 2012   20"x16" on canvas

A personal favorite of mine, and is in my own collection.

Mary had a Little Lamb

"Mary had a Little Lamb"

Mary had a little lamb,
whose fleece was white as snow.


And everywhere that Mary went,
the lamb was sure to go.


It followed her to school one day...

This song got stuck in my head one day, and the next thing I knew I was painting it.  Here is Mary, giving her little lamb a talking to, trying to get him to go back home - Completed April, 2012   8"x10"  SOLD

A Welcoming Entrance

"A Welcoming Entrance" - I've been painting a lot of spring flowers this year - I can't help it, as I really love this time of year.  Flowers add so much to a place, whether it be a home or a field or a roadside ditch, the world is a much better place with them in it.   They just seem to add a great deal of warmth and welcome to any place, but most especially home. 

Along the way home, clumps of daffodils, hyacinths, grape muscari wave their welcome and show off their colors just to delight you.  The trees - not to be outdone - put forth their brightest, greenest foliage of the season, not yet touched by Summer's perils (heat, drought and insects). 

(For a closer look, just click on the photos)

This is probably my favorite right at present, and is in my own collection.

Lake Hideaway

"Lake Hideaway" -  There's a nice breeze blowing, making the water a bit choppy but it's a beautiful day to be at the lake in this cozy little lakeside cabin!   Daydreaming and painting along - Just completed, March 2012

(To view a larger image, just click on the photo)

A Walk in the Park

"A Walk in the Park" -  Everything is green and in its finest Spring form, with  that special "glow" that you encounter every now and then - usually right before or right after a spring storm - with the sky is a darker, more ominous blue.  My favorite time to go out and about - after the storm has passed, of course! 

Just completed, March 2012.   SOLD

(For a larger view, just click on the picture)

"By the Light of the Moon"  - The big full moon has everything shimmering under its beams, and lights the way home.  The trees leaves, clouds, flowers are all shimmering in the moon light!  (See note below*)  I've just completed this one, March 2012

*Note:  There is a fair amount of metallic paints mixed into this one, and though subtle when you see it in person, it makes it exceptionally hard (for me) to photograph, as the flash creates impossible glares with the metallic paints that I've yet to overcome.   I've tried to add a variety of lighting situations in the photos, though in some the clouds don't show up, and it's hard to see the shimmer in them.  Still, it seems as though it's either too much glare, or too dark.  In reality, it is somewhere in between.   

  

Spring Greetings

"Spring Greetings" -   I've been daydreaming of Spring every since New Year's, and the arrival of my beloved seed catalogs - Already some of the Spring flowers are beginning to awaken, due to the mild winter, and I can hardly wait for their return!    Completed, February 2012

"Susan's Valley"

"Susan's Valley" -   Black-eyed Susans that is!   A little cabin nestled in behind the Black-eyed Susans at the foot of the rolling hills behind.   A tree swing provides hours of enjoyment, as you can see by the well worn path.  Completed December 2011,  SOLD.

-I always have loved tree swings, and in fact still have one to this day.    All is right with the world when you're swinging on a tree swing!

(To see the large, up-close view, just click on the pictures)

"Foothills" - This was one of my earliest acrylic paintings, done in the first part of 2011.  I believe that it was one of the first five that I did in acrylic. 

"Spring Trail"  - Along the trail leading into the forest, all of the flowers, grasses, and bushes are just waking up from their winters rest!   Daydreaming of Spring and painting along.  Just completed, February 2012.   SOLD  

"Sanctuary" - Where does your mind go when it wanders...or where does it go to escape?  Mine I guess goes off to the flowered rolling hills, to chase the cloud shadows or find an unspoiled pool of water on such a beautiful day!  Completed February 2012

That's the official description, and here is the "behind the scenes" one, just for you who take the time.  This one was painted at a rather sad time of my life, and in fits and starts- literally 15 minutes at a time - instead of my usual marathon sessions.  I do not like painting this way at all, but this painting is one that I am unlikely to forget in any way.   My father passed away on January 31st, and he and my mother had been married for 57 years - together for 65.   She's no spring chicken either, and I suspect, in the beginning stages of dementia of one sort or another.   Let's just shorten this story up by saying these last few weeks have been "something".    I don't know how I "escaped" before I started painting, I really don't.  But I am oh-so-thankful that I had this escape - truly my "Sanctuary".  

*I feel that possibly a quick note regarding my photography skills - or lack thereof - is in order here.  Those bright blue splotches in the sky and by the pond are not actually in the picture (no, sorry, not aliens landing), but are actually shadows produced by a bush outside of the window.   And here I was, feeling all proud of myself that the random white spots produced by the flash seemed to have been kept to a minimum...Ah well.  All I can say is apologies - hopefully I'll hone my photography skills doing this someday.  I'll keep after it!

 "Bring the Fishing Poles" - The work's all done - everythings been mowed, the flower beds are in good shape, the fence row's looking good, the vegetable garden (side of barn) is thriving, and the chairs are out there ready and waiting! SOLD 2011  16"x20"

(Click on picture for larger view)