Octotabby, 2021

I have been playing around sketching an octopus cat for years. I think I first came up with the idea while I was painting Underwater Cat back in 2013. In Underwater Cat, I painted an octopus and a puffer type looking fish along with a snorkeling orange cat who wears flippers.

At any rate, I painted Octotabby with nine legs opposed to eight, because cats are synonymous with nine lives. Additionally, I had an exhibition at the Scarab Club entitled, Nine Lives: The Art of Michael Crane in 2016.   

The painting measures 11 x 14” and it is on panel. I have been wanting to frame for some time but have not yet. The creature’s eyes (crescent shaped) and sharp teeth make it appear menacing, which adds another dynamic to the painting, unlike my early sketches. When the opportunity presents itself, I would like to exhibition this painting.

An orange pop art graphic cat face, with green eyes and pink inside its ears with nine legs resembling an octopus.

Tiger Barb, 2016

Tiger Barb, 2016 was painted at the Scarab Club.  The idea was minted shortly after I started painting kuhli loaches.  If memory serves me correctly, the primary sketch came to me quickly and there was no need to tinker with the composition. My wife and I currently have five green tiger barbs that buzz around our 30-gallon tank in our basement. They are essentially schooling fish, so it probably would have made more sense to have painted multiple tiger barbs on a single canvas. Maybe next time!

Death on a Pale Rat, 2020

Death on a Pale Rat, 2020 is a play on the DIA’s great painting, “Death on the Pale Horse” by Benjamin West (1738—1820).  I believe my mentor at the DIA, Nancy Rivard Shaw was very involved in the painting being purchased by the museum.  At any rate, this West painting has always had a special place in my heart.

I painted an earlier version (8 x 10” on panel) that appeared in my Scarab Club exhibition, “Cats Rule: The Art of Michael Crane in 2019.” 

I have been toying with the idea of painting a large canvas with artist friend Mike McMath where we have a full-on battle with sword wielding Snuggie Cats, some of which are mounted on rats…could be epic!

Nietzsche Cats: Beyond Good and Evil

I may have started this painting in Detroit and finished it in San Francisco, but I am not certain. At any rate, the panel is subdivided into four equal parts, each containing a lone cat. Moving from the lower left we have a red devil cat holding a pitchfork. The backdrop is engulfed in flames. Moving to the right, we have a Kiss Cat with a long serpentine tongue. This frame’s flames give way to an evening sky. Writing about it now, I should have included a distant moon in the sky—too late. Above is a gray Byzantium Teaching/Blessing Cat against a gold ground background. To the left is an enlightened Glow Cat that holds a martini.

I used a pour on resin varnish for this painting. Artist friend, James Gregg helped me with the varnish.

Upon my return to Detroit, I reestablished myself in Studio #5 at the Scarab Club. Nietzsche Cats: Beyond Good and Evil being one of my favorite paintings, I naturally hung the painting in the space. When my studio mate moved to Nashville, he took the painting with him.

Lunch Break: Giraffe Ride

I painted two bookend paintings in 2014 that I titled, Lunch Break: Giraffe Ride (both 18 x 36”).  They obviously are shown facing opposite directions and really exhibit well together—I nicknamed them, Left and Right.  One of the paintings appears in the book, Cats Rule: The Art of Michael Crane. 

It was interesting formulating the painting in my head.  Because of the color of the giraffe, I decided to paint the waving cat gray.  The tree branch with its delectable leaves (at least for a giraffe) was painted in the top corner.  I decided against outlining the branch and leaves in this case and looked to the simple designs of Grete Prytz Kittelson (Norwegian, 1917-2010).  I own a couple of enameled metal bowls with her famous leaf pattern.  I bought these bowls through eBay well over twenty years ago, prior to this type of material exploding in popularity and price. 

Clarinet Cat Study

Clarinet Cat Study, 2015, was painted on a free canvas (18 x 24”) that I received while living in San Francisco. 

I really like how the clarinet tuned out. I made several sketches of clarinets until I was happy with how I planned on depicting the instrument.  Additionally, I once had ambitions to paint more cats playing an assortment of instruments. You never know if this theme will resurface.

Pearl Gourami, 2021

I am really having a great time painting tropical fish lately and I am thrilled with the way this painting turned out. I typically find gouramis body shapes extremely fun to paint—their appearance is on the quirky side. There are of course considerable variances within the species, which keeps things fresh and motivating. Their thin long ray-like fins stemming from the pectoral area are a really interesting characteristic. For this painting, I really enjoyed working up ideas on how to best capture the spotting found on pearl gouramis. I think the blue circles I painted playfully did the trick. Using a bright yellow for the gourami really stands out against the blue field color.

Rhino Ride (2014)

Rhino Ride, 2014 was the follow-up to Elephant Ride, 2013.  They are both painted on a 36 x 36” canvas and I believe they really work well on a square format.  I painted another version of Rhino Ride in 2019, the big difference with the second version is that the rhino is white and facing the opposite direction.  I am typically not political but white rhinos (northern and southern) are endangered and I am an animal lover, so I am hoping that this painting might bring some attention to these beautiful and powerful creatures.  I have also thought of painting a third version, this time using a black rhino.  All this said, Rhino Ride is one of my favorite paintings.

Parachute Ride

This version of Parachute Ride (18 x 24”) served as a study for a larger painting that was included in the 2019 exhibition titled, Cats Rule: The Art of Michael Crane, at the Scarab Club in Detroit, Michigan.  The inspiration for the painting was from a James Bond film, Moonracker, 1979.  Luckily for our parachuting feline friend, Jaws is nowhere to be seen.  This is one of my favorite paintings along with Rhino Ride.

Dancing Kuhli Loaches

Dancing Kuhli Loaches was painted in 2016 during a period when I was revisiting tropical fish as a subject.  Michelle and I had several Dojo Loaches when we lived in San Francisco.  The Dojos are essentially the larger pink version to their striped cousins.  I had Kuhli Loaches as a kid as did my childhood friend John Whall.  Loaches are very active, so capturing them in such a balanced composition in nature would be highly unlikely, but that is the magic of art. 

This painting is currently hanging in our A-frame cottage in Michigan.