Mosaic Cats!

I have been creating mosaics for ten years now and if you've been following my work, you know I love cats. I love creating cats in all different styles from realistic pet portraits to fun, patterned cats, from cartoony cats to my favorite, blue cats. Their fun shape, fabulous poses and playful personality keep me creating them again and again. Our family cat, Raymi, has been the model and inspiration for many of these mosaics and is the star of my children's book, The Night Before Christmas.

Here are some of the many cats I've done. To see them in detail, visit my Mosaic Cat Flickr page.

Hamish

My latest pet portrait, is of a beautiful cat named Hamish, who recently passed away. The mosaic, which is 8x10" and made with stained glass now resides with Isabelle in the U.K.

I always begin with the eyes on any animal or person.  Once I am happy with them, I know I will ultimately be happy with the whole mosaic.  The eyes can take me hours sometimes, especially if I have to cut tiny pieces such as the little white reflections, which in this mosaic are less than 1/8 of an inch in diameter.


I work with lots of visuals, including many photos of Hamish so I can get his markings and coloring just right; a black and white photo of the primary photo I'm working from to get the values correct; and a line drawing of the mosaic so I can work out the andamento of the glass (how I want to cut it and ultimately flow).

I received a lovely email from Isabelle after she received her mosaic: 

Hello Christine, I received the mosaic today in perfect condition. I love it and when the light shines on the eyes they twinkle and make me smile. You have captured Hamish and I will cherish it for ever. I feel him looking back at me and makes the loss easier. Thank you for the book and cards also but most of all bringing my Hamish back to life. Best wishes Isabelle

 

Thank you, Isabelle, for your trust and faith in me to create this portrait of Hamish for you!

Happy New Year!

Well, I didn't get a lot done on my book this year, but I did add to my pet portrait portfolio!  And I had an amazing experience leading the mosaic marathon at SAMA in Lexington, KY this year.  I look forward to 2013, to finishing my book and to seeing what's next.  Happy New Year to all my readers.  Thanks for following along in my artistic journey!

Pet Portraits Finished!



Elgin, 5x7" stained glass



Rowdy, 5x7" stained glass





Madeline, 5x7" stained glass



Bubba, 5x7" stained glass

These four portraits were commissioned by a woman in Texas and she just received them so I can now post them!  They are all 5x7" and made with stained glass.  They were a challenge working this small but I am very happy with how they turned out.