escape or make

Muji and I were on the same page yesterday: making the great escape.

It was a gorgeous day for the Apple Blossom Festival here in town, and a runaway day for me.

Despite a year of resolve to escape the dreaded bass vibration of the rock music that traveled across town last year and into the house, I took a chance and risked staying home.

I really wanted to  work on some ideas I have for an abstracted base to a painting.

Instead of the abstract base, I got cold feet and decided to work on some funky colouring for this doodle I did last week. I cut it out and glued it into my grey paper sketchbook. 

While doing this I saw Muji in the vestibule regaled by the robins through the screen in the door.

It was if they were calling him like the sirens called Odysseus.

How he longed to go to them.

And then suddenly he was airborne.

Clinging to the edge, so sure he could make it

And then he just hung there for a moment; almost made the Great Escape

a "what now?" look

Babu, never having been an outdoor cat doesn't quite get it

but he consoles Muji nonetheless 

Back to the living room where I catch their attention  in a kitty totem pole

And this is how I spent my afternoon.

The piece on the right was my previous attempt at creating the wide-eyed character

focusing that day on neutrals with a little colour. It is done in Prismacolor.

The work on the left, completely in acrylic paint.

And yet another glorious spring day, the nicest kind of spring, long and temperate leaning to cool with frost warnings at night these last few days. Just beautiful.