“Cat and Plant” (acrylic on canvas, 2021)

At the time I painted this, we were living in a sunny townhome with giant windows. The sunniest spot was the downstairs bay window, which I would load up with plants to soak in the sunshine. One day when watering the plants, I moved a plant onto the dining table in front of the bay window, and our polydactyl cat came up to sit next to the plant, occasionally nibbling on the leaves. She looked at me and I snapped a picture, just taking in that moment of her calm while observing this plant. I felt very inspired by that frozen moment in time and felt inspired to paint the scene. The only change I made when painting was the planter color. The plant was in a dark blue container, but I painted it in a vibrant cotton candy pink to match the cat’s bright pink nose.