Big cat and little cats

Tiger

©Sharon Whitley

Hellooooo all you bloggers out there, hope you're all having a great day.  Where do the weekends go?  Can't believe it's back to work again tomorrow - it's been a funny old weekend, no walking this weekend except for an unscheduled one on Friday night!  Gary and I went on our 'spinning' Christmas do in Chester - we got the bus and paid for a return fare planning to get the last bus back - but while we were having our meal it was snowing heavily outside - so much so that all the buses stopped running - and most of the taxi drivers went home too!  After about an hour trying to find a taxi we finally managed to flag one down but it couldn't get us all the way home because of the snow and we had to walk the last couple of miles - in pouring rain, cold - now you know I love a good snowy walk but not in my party frock! I was glad to be home I can tell you!  Yesterday we went to Chester Zoo again and met the baby elephant that was born last Monday - oh what a little cutie!  It was great to see the animals in the snow and Gary got some wonderful photos as usual, the highlight of the day was watching a rather brave little robin hopping around one of the tigers trying to pinch a scrap of his lunch!

As well as painting a big cat I've painted a couple of small cats too, in a much looser style

© Sharon Whitley

©Sharon Whitley

Those of you who follow my facebook page may have read that I'm planning on starting a 'monthly art challenge', wherby I post a photo and invite other artists to paint it in whatever medium and style they wish - there are a few interested and I'll be posting the first challenge before the end of the month ready for February - I'll post the photo here on my blog too if any of you out there would like to join in.  It's just a bit of fun, not a competition, just a way of seeing how different artists interpret the same subject and hopefully we can all learn a little bit from each other.  I'll be mainly using Gary's photos, but I won't limit it to wildlife and landscapes and will also use photos from the Paint my Photo site and use suggestions from artists that are joining in the fun - so let me know if you'd like to join in - it doesn't have to be every month just whenever you want depending on whether you have the time and like the subject!  That's it from me for now - have a wonderful week!