The Garden Cats of Luis Wain

You may have seen the recent movie, The Electrical Life of Louis Wain. It is a biographical film starring Benedict Cumberbatch as the British artist Louis Wain (1860-1939). Wain led an eccentric life (to say the least), but left a legacy of cat art that is collected today with great interest and fervor. His anthropomorphized cats reflect our human nature and foibles back at us. His cat is vibrant and unique. I've chosen a few of us pieces that combine cats and gardens or plants for you to enjoy here.

If you haven't seen the film yet, I highly recommend it. Their are both beautiful gardens and a charming cat named Peter. The story does take some liberties for the sake of dramatic effect, but in general is faithful to the facts and is quite moving in the end.

This one is "Cats Destroying a Garden"
 - perhaps they are actually haplessly trying to garden?

This one is "Cats Busy Working in the Garden" and the cats seem much better skilled.
Although I am not sure what the one with the slingshot on the hedge is doing. It is for sale at:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/232427741828?chn=ps&mkevt=1&mkcid=28

These pieces below are from the latter part of his art career and show his obsession with electricity. You can see the energy fairly leaping off the images from both the colorful flowers and the feline subjects.

There are many, many more cats in garden portraits by Luis Wain.
I urge you to google a few and enjoy then along with a nice cup of Early Gray tea.

Shake, Rattle, and Roll

Mary-Denise Smith, who blogs at www.crumbsonthetable.com, shared these photos of Joey.

She writes:

Joey is almost 17 years old, we think, and has lived all his life in Green Ridge House - a senior living apartment house in Greenbelt, MD.

Two years ago, just as the shut downs were slamming everything shut, Joey’s human died, and Joey was sent to the Greenbelt animal shelter. 

I found out about him from our wonderful house manager, rushed over in the very last hour before they closed, and brought Joey home with me.

It took him quite a while to get over the shock and confusion of events, and to living with a new human. But he rose to the occasion like the gentleman he is, and is now a champion lap cat.

Here he is doing something new - messing with seed packets! He had so much fun making them rattle and skip around, I was sorry/not sorry to pick them up!

In the photo below, he is peering out from under the bedsheets on laundry day.

According to Wikipedia: 
"Shake, Rattle and Roll" is a twelve bar blues-form song, written in 1954 by Jesse Stone (usually credited as Charles F. Calhoun, his songwriting name). The original recording by Big Joe Turner is ranked number 127 on the Rolling Stone magazine's list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. 

   Bill Haley & His Comets covered it in 1955.

Joyce Grigonis is a retired Landscape Architect in Southold, NY. She is also a self-described plant whisperer and plant geek.

Joyce shared this photo and wrote, "This is Clawson. He’s getting to be a senior citizen now, but still patrols the gardens and catches the occasional rodent. He’s too friendly and used go up to just about anyone. Been stolen from us a few times, but always made it back to us. I think he’s finally learned that not all humans are nice. He sticks around now."

Joyce has also previously shared with us her cats here and here. 

Kitty at First Light

I don't know about you, but this time of year is torture for me in the Mid-Atlantic US. It is a long, cold stretch between the holidays and the first day of spring. My cats spend much of their daytime following the winter sun around my bedroom and living room taking naps in its warmth.

This kitty pictured above is soaking in those rays on a warm day. He is no fool and knows they are fleeting!

Source: Murfomurf at https://www.flickr.com/photos/murfomurf/12423723973/

How to Submit YOUR Garden Cat Photos/Stories

Photo by Maiken Ingvordsen, Unsplash.com.

Being enchanted by both cats and gardens, I decided to start this blog for fun to combine the beauty of both. I know that many of you share my interest in these two passions and I hope you will submit your own images of garden cats with us.

Note that we define a garden as any cultivated spot with plants. This can be anything from a public park to your bedroom windowsill!

Here is how to submit your image:
- Email to KathyJentz (at) gmail (dot) com
- Put "Cats in Gardens" in the subject line
- Attach your image(s)
- In the body of the email include:
  ~ your name or you can choose to be "anonymous"
  ~ the cat's name (if known)
  ~ where the photo was taken (city, state, country)
  ~ if you have a blog, social media, or web site you would like to have linked to in the post
  ~ a paragraph or so about the cat or the garden or both, we love to hear your stories!