GENTLENESS (1997) by Michael Whelan Acrylic on Canvas - 11” x 13” Not a classical Virtue, but based on observing my young son with our aging family cat. It’s how I hope we’ll care for all the earth’s creatures. ———– Sorry for the absence over the...
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GENTLENESS (1997) by Michael Whelan

Acrylic on Canvas - 11” x 13”

Not a classical Virtue, but based on observing my young son with our aging family cat. It’s how I hope we’ll care for all the earth’s creatures.

———–

Sorry for the absence over the weekend. We lost our dear cat Isabel after several weeks of vet visits, a hospitalization last weekend, and a sudden turn for the worse on Thursday.

Watching my son comfort Isabel in her dying hours reminded me of this painting of Adrian and Pepper, the gentleness of spirit that connects boy and cat.

We adopted Isabel 14 years ago when she was just an oddball kitten. In those early days, she used to snarl like a dog as she tugged on toys. Back then both she and her sister Jasmine were small enough to fit in the palm of my hand at the same time, so as you can imagine her displays of fierceness and spunk were quite adorable.

Isabel was a constant presence in our house for so many years. It seems odd to lay down at night and not hear her greetings. As she approached from the foot of the bed, she was always anxious for permission to curl up beside me. She was the sweetest, gentlest cat I’ve ever known. We miss her terribly.

~ME

(via theartofmichaelwhelan)

Source: michaelwhelan.com

FLOWERS AND WEEDS (1997) by Michael Whelan Acrylic on Canvas - 36” X 48” When my son Adrian was 3 or 4 years old, we used to go to an abandoned construction site where there were huge slabs of concrete embedded with iron reinforcing rods. When we...
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FLOWERS AND WEEDS (1997) by Michael Whelan

Acrylic on Canvas - 36” X 48”

When my son Adrian was 3 or 4 years old, we used to go to an abandoned construction site where there were huge slabs of concrete embedded with iron reinforcing rods. When we struck the rebar with a stone or another piece of metal they would ring like bells. It was interesting to hear such beautiful tones coming from such ugliness and he really enjoyed it.

We always seemed to be there late in the day, when the sun’s rays were low and slanting, and I liked the way the shadows from the rebar would stretch across the concrete forms.

I didn’t get to do the painting until many years later and the wooden door and grass and flowers are from my own imagination. Adrian is contemplating pulling a weed out of the small eden in front of him. Should he leave it be or should he try to “improve” on nature?

(via theartofmichaelwhelan)

Source: michaelwhelan.com

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