A note about The Cuddlywumps Chronicles

This blog is written and maintained by Miss Cuddlywumps, a fluffy-tailed calico cat who is both classically educated and familiar with mysteries. She receives creative input from the Real Cats and clerical assistance from She of Little Talent (old SoLT, a.k.a. Roby Sweet). Comments or complaints should be addressed to Miss C rather than to old SoLt (Ms. Sweet). Ms. Sweet accepts no responsibility for Miss C's opinions.

Wednesday, April 29, 2015

Medieval Dog Bites Cat

Wordless Wednesday


Illumination shows a dog biting a cat who
is busy dealing with two mice.
Detail from book 16 of Gregory the Great’s Moralia in Job.
Germany, 12th century.
Public Domain, via the

Friday, April 24, 2015

Doodling for Cat People: A Gem from Gemma Correll



Miss Cuddlywumps reviews the book—and old SoLT’s drawing



Just looking at Gemma Correll’s cat drawings can bring a smile to your face. They’re just so cute, and funny, and deceptively simple. Well, if you think it would be fun to learn to draw cute, funny cats, Doodling for Cat People is just the book for you.

The book

First, the book is filled with Correll’s cat drawings, just to show you what is possible: cats in clothes, cats doing tricks (or not), cats in boxes, cats in hats, anthropomorphic cats… You get the idea—and ideas are what it’s all about. Just think of the things you can create with just a few simple lines on a stray sheet of paper!

Only it’s hard to know how to start, and that’s where Doodling for Cat People can really help you out. For the creatively challenged, the book includes creative prompts and step-by-step instructions that are easy to follow. Don’t know which part of the cat to draw first? Correll tells you. (Spoiler alert: start with the head and ears.) Don’t know which direction to draw your line in? Correll tells you. (Spoiler alert: it takes some practice.)

She of Little Talent tries to draw like Gemma Correll

And she mostly fails—let’s just say that right up front. (I don’t call her She of Little Talent for nothing, you know.)

Poor old SoLT dreams of drawing beautiful things, so naturally she was eager to try her hand at doodling cats. Because she is pathologically incapable of actually drawing in a book (this after receiving some harsh criticism over her earliest creative endeavors in her parents’ books), she used just any old sheet of paper that was lying around. “That’s what doodling really is,” she said.

So she put pen to paper, and…

Well, aside from her very first attempt, she didn’t do as badly as I might have expected. Actually, old SoLT is rather proud of her attempt at a fluffy Persian (lower left), but I will tell you for the record that she did not mean for that kitty to come out looking deranged. I’m proud of her for trying.

The upshot

We highly recommend Doodling for Cat People. It’s great fun, even if your doodle attempts come out looking a little deranged. Who knows…maybe your off-kilter drawing can be the inspiration for a comic about an off-kilter cat!




Also by Gemma Correll

 

Wednesday, April 22, 2015

Three Kittens Play While Their Mother Naps

Wordless Wednesday


A mother cat naps while her kittens play.
Lithograph, ca. 1820–1860.
Lithographer: Joseph Brodtmann (1787–1862).
Artist:   Gottfried Mind (1768-1814).
Via Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division.

For more on the artist Gottfried Mind, see "Gottfried Mind: Cat Raphael."