TigerTime – Save the Tiger

The Premier of China, Wen Jiabao has publicly stated that he is committed to saving the wild tiger. However, his government is allowing trade in tiger skins from tiger farms and skins taken before poaching was outlawed. This trade is acting as a smokescreen for skins taken by killing wild tigers. If China does not stop this trade, the wild tiger is doomed.

We are getting ever closer to 40,000 signatures for PLEASE sign the petition.

During Black Cat Awareness Day, on October the 27th, Cats Protection are asking  cat lovers to share photos of their black cats on their flickr site, facebook page or their flickr page or tweet mentioning @CatsProtection and #CPBlackCats . They will select some of their favourite photos and create a gallery of them.

The Prize

I am going to select a winner from the gallery and paint a 10×8 inch portrait of the winning cat! :-)

So if you fancy a portrait of your beautiful black puss upload your photo to http://www.facebook.com/catsprotection and tell people how wonderful our black cats are and maybe you could win a painting of your cat.

Why

Black Cat Awareness Day from Cats Protection aims to help around 1,300 unwanted black cats who are being overlooked by potential owners. Black cats make up one fifth of the total number of cats being looked after by Cats Protection, and each black cat is waiting a week longer to find a home compared to the average cat.

To adopt a black cat, please log on to www.cats.org.uk for details of your local Cats Protection branch or centre.

To see some of my paintings of black cats including my rescue boy Harry take a look at the Fascinating Felines Gallery.

I’ve been working hard to finish the paintings and prints for the American Bullmastiff Association art auction next month. Dax, Rocky and CJ at Bijoux Falls are on their way and hopefully they’ll help to raise much needed funds for bullmastiff rescue and health.

Here they are…

Rocky

CJ at The Bijoux Falls

Dax

It was a very busy week last week at the Affordable Art Fair in Battersea Park. It was so lovely to meet so many people at the show and thank you to all of you who came on the private view evening as all your ticket price went to Battersea Dogs and Cats Home! And of course to everyone who bought paintings as well.

The show was opened by Catherine Tate who is a long time supporter of Battersea. Here she is on our stand with some of the work behind her, some of mine and some of Sarah Cleggs.

And here she is with Lola.

We had a very successful week and raised a lot of money for Battersea. So thanks to everyone who came and helped raise funds for Battersea.

There is so much to choose from in the Bengal Friends Fund Raffle! All are welcome! Tickets are cheap and all sales benefit Bengal Friends Fund. You don’t have to register on the forum to take part in the raffle, although it is a great place to talk about Bengal cats. You don’t even have to have a Bengal cat to take part.

There are a lot of prizes, including wonderful jewellery, a Mariposa handbag, a cat exercise wheel, books, t-shirts, cat walking jackets, iphone 4 cases, and lots of other things! Oh and a print of your choice from me too.

Here is the Raffle thread showing the prizes:
http://phenomi.net/bengalchatter/viewtopic.php?f=35&t=2927
There are items spread out over several pages.

Tickets are 5 dollars and can be bought here:
http://phenomi.net/bengalfriendsfund/index.php?SpecialEvents

Find out more about the BFF here www.BengalFriendsFund.org

All proceeds from the tickets for the charity private view on the 9th of March will go to Battersea Dogs and Cats Home, the chosen charity for the fair in March. So come along to the Affordable Art Fair at Battersea Park in London and be the first to see some wonderful art from over 120 British and International galleries.

The painting of Lola, a 20×16 inch oil on canvas, will be on sale on the Battersea stand with 100% of the price going to Battersea Dogs Home.

And finally, I will be there on the private view evening at the Battersea stand to chat about animals and art. So please do come along and support Battersea Dogs and Cats Home at the Affordable Art Fair on March the 9th. It would be lovely to see you there.

Charity Private View
09 March 2011
5.30pm – 9.30pm
Battersea Evolution,
Battersea Park,
London SW11 4NJ
(Google map)

Book your ticket now.

This is the finished painting of Lola. She is a 20×16 inch oil on canvas. She is such a pretty dog I loved painting her and I think I want to do another painting of her soon. There is something very appealing about English Bull Terriers! ♥

20×16 inch oil on box canvas
£640

I am donating Lola to Battersea Cats and Dogs Home to raise money for the work they do helping cats and dogs find new loving homes. So she will be for sale and 100% of the sale price will go to Battersea. A very worthy cause!

This is a close up of the canvas…

You can see many different colours are used in her eyes.

She is painted on a deep box canvas and I’ve painted the edges of the canvas so the painting can hang unframed.

This is one of two pieces I’ve donated to The Battersea Dog and Cats Home to help raise funds. It’s their 150th anniversary this year and there’s a ball on the 25th of November. I hope Thrill Of The Chase will raise a bit of cash for them. Especially as the home has so many Staffordshire Bull Terriers needing a good home! I thought this 20×16 inch painting of a staffy chasing seagulls on the beach would be the right painting to donate.

This is one of the largest prints I’ve done. Its a 20×16 inch print of In The Pink in a 24×30 inch frame. This is the second piece I’ve donated to Battersea for their fund raising.

It was quite an adventure taking them over there in the high winds we had. For a couple of sticky moments I thought I might get blown across London, arriving by air instead of road! :-)

These two dogs, a bullmastiff and French bulldog are the best of friends. They enjoy each others company and love to sleep together. I love the way Clark is using hank as a pillow. :-)

This will be up for auction at the American Bullmastiff Association art auction in September.

This  is a 20×16 inch painting on board of the famous and handsome dog Brahmin, standing in front of the Boston Lighthouse.

This is a very special painting. It’s going to be auctioned at the American Bullmastiff Association Art Auction, in Boston, on the 24th of September. The proceeds will go to the ABA to help with the work they do with bullmastiffs. All animals charities are struggling in these difficult times, so I hope this painting will help raise much needed funds for ABA and bullmastiffs.

I’ve painted this one as a donation for the Environmental Investigation Agency, a charity who, among other things, campaign for species in peril around the world.

River Crossing
60×30 cm acrylic on canvas

The Feline Advisory Bureau is a charity dedicated to promoting the health and welfare of cats. This year is their 50th anniversary and among the celebrations FAB are launching a new book Essential Cattitude: an insight into the feline world. To illustrate the book FAB asked cat loving artists and celebrities to contribute pictures of their favourite felines and I donated ‘The Boss’ a painting of Cassie to the cause.

The book was launched at The Groucho Club in London in February 2008. You can find out much more about Essential Cattitude: An Insight Into The Feline World and even buy a copy on FAB’s web site www.fabcats.org