The Several Faces of Gypsy Rose

Gretchen Del Rio is a 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 or to post in The BeZine or The BeZine blog.

“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

A couple of years ago when my grand-kitty, Gypsy Rose, was diagnosed with kidney disease and associated co-morbidities, I commissioned Gretchen to paint her in three of her many moods. It was none-to-soon. Gypsy died a little over a year ago and is still mourned by our family.

Gypsy was companionable and could be dictatorial. She had her standards to uphold. Like most cats she was at home with writers, which was a good thing. My daughter-in-law, Karen Fayeth, and I are both writers. Gypsy expressed her critical opinion by sleeping on good manuscripts and coughing up furballs on bad ones. She liked 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 own once-upon-a-time cat  – a paper weight. Despite her critical eye, she was always best friend.

Here is Gypsy through Gretchen Del Rio’s eyes:

© 2016, words, Jamie Dedes; original watercolor paintings, Gretchen Del Rio, Gretchen Del Rio.com; Gypsy photograph, Karen Fayeth, Oh Fair New Mexico – all rights reserved