This is one of the images I used in Scragamuffin, the chapbook I released as October’s exclusive Patreon reward. I thought it might be fun to release the pictures with the photos that inspired them.
This image just looks so improbable! I wonder if I could/should convert it into a literal emoji?
A portrait of my cat, Clone (now, alas, deceased), taken by the radiation clinic before we brought him in for thyroid treatment. He pulled through that okay and got another four years or so.
This is one of the images I used in Scragamuffin, the chapbook I released as October’s exclusive Patreon reward. I thought it might be fun to release the pictures with the photos that inspired them.
I drew this in an early stage of developing this white-on-brown style for cat drawings, and it was one of the pictures that encouraged me to continue because of the shock of recognition I felt when I looked “Pete” in the eye. It just really looks like him. I was also really excited by the way the paws turned out– the pattern of light shows the distribution of his weight in a way I don’t think I would have been able to capture without using a photograph as a template. He’s pondering a jump and his front paws are on the corner of a cabinet. I think getting that right helps the image feel like it’s arrested mid-motion instead of being a stiff pose.
Zephyr being petted by my husband, Mike. Zephyr likes to grab petting hands so you can’t stop petting.
This is one of the images I used in Scragamuffin, the chapbook I released as October’s exclusive Patreon reward. I thought it might be fun to release the pictures with the photos that inspired them.
Pete was a pretty large cat. This is a substantial-sized mixing bowl which explains how he got into it, but the way his fur spills over the edges makes it look like the bowl is much too small. I think he looks like a cupcake.
Wander sits contemplatively beneath our coffee table, pondering something catly. His uncle, Pete, liked to sit in this position, too.
Today, I’m sending my patrons a new chapbook–Scragamuffin.
I didn’t intend to write another chapbook; it just sort of happened. Unfortunately, we lost another one of our cats, and this one was only nine. So, it’s been kind of a bummer.
I wrote a bunch of poems about Pete, and also started drawing pictures based on photographs of him. I lucked into a style I like a lot so I’ve been drawing other animals–pets and otherwise–since.
This Patreon chapbook contains about twenty poems, about twenty illustrations, and the rules for one game (which can only be initiated by a cat).
I hope folks find it fun or funny–or at least furry.
All of my patrons receive premium content every month. Donations of any amount are gratefully appreciated. Every little bit helps. (Especially, alas, as my husband has been laid off again. Poor Mike.)
Something’s over there, and it will cower in the face of her glamour.
![[image description: line sketch of a woman looking off to one side]](https://i1.wp.com/rachelswirsky.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/Paper.Housing-Notes.46.png)
She’s pretty sure you’re full of shit, though.
This reminds me of the art my parents had from the sixties, feminist with interesting proportions and bodies. I called it cloud-haired woman after a character in Marianne, the Magus and the Manticore, my favorite of Sheri Tepper’s books which made a strong impression on me as a child. (I haven’t read it since.)