Gretchen Del Rio is a terrific California artist who finds her inspiration in nature and animals. Some of you will have noticed that thanks to Gretchen’s generosity, I sometimes use her work to illustrate my poems. Gretchen’s Native American spirit animals are the finest and I am enamoured of them.

“The paintings are from my heart and I always fall in love with the subject. I believe that we are all connected and, if an image touches you, it is because we all have the same heart even though our paths may be different.” Gretchen Del Rio

Recently Gretchen painted my grandkitty, Gypsy, in three of her many moods. Some of you know Gypsy from The Cat’s Meow. Though she hasn’t blogged for a while, her posts are still up for everyone to enjoy. She may  get back to blogging one of these days; but currently her plate is full to brimming while she organizes the CitySon Philosopher and the Girl from New Mexico in their new house in a different city. She takes her familial obligations seriously.

Gypsy – like most cats – is at home with writers. She expresses her critical opinion by sleeping on good manuscripts and coughing up furr balls on bad ones. In fine feline tradition, she likes to play the muse posing variously as lap blanket, printer cozy, keyboard duster, desk trasher and in much the same spirit apparently as Ray Bradbury’s cat  – a paper weight.

“I have my favorite cat, who is my paperweight, on my desk while I am writing.” Ray Bradbury

Here is Gypsy through Gretchen Del Rio’s eyes:

© 2013, original watercolor paintings, Gretchen Del Rio, Gretchen Del Rio.com

© Gypsy photograph, Karen Fayeth, Oh Fair New Mexico

This is post was pre-scheduled.