Jack the cat. Water color painting by Marylou Shipman.© Nov. 2016.

Original post 1/23/17:

From Ocean Grove artist Marylou Shipman. October 6, 2019.

“Hello Paul…Back in November I was taking my daily walk for coffee when I spotted the purr-fect photo-op right outside of Blogfinger headquarters. There, perched atop your beautiful  porch railing, was Jack the cat from Mt. Tabor Way.

“He made my job easy…more than willing to sit while I snapped several shots, trying to get the composition just right for my watercolor painting. This is a rare event, as you can imagine because the typical cat will not hold a pose if he does not want to. Perhaps Jack was waiting patiently for that next big OG news story to come in.”

Editor’s note:  (Paul @Blogfinger)  We are privileged at Blogfinger to be able to exhibit MaryLou Shipman’s series of cat paintings.  Aside from her great technical skill, MaryLou has created a rogues gallery of actual cats who are also Grovers. She observes their personalities and captures their individualities.

As for Jack Sprat, “The Jack Sprat alluded to in this English poem is reputed to be King Charles I (1625-1649) and Henrietta Maria, his Queen (1609-1669).”  (From the history book of nursery rhymes.)

2019 update: MaryLou  is “still going strong.”  In an email to Blogfinger she says, “Jack can usually be found curled up comfortable into a wicker chair cushion on his own porch on Mt. Tabor Way. I consider Jack to be my good luck charm. His painting won “Best in Show” in the 2017 Canterbury Juried Art Exhibition of Rumson, NJ. The painting was also accepted to the 2017 NJ Watercolor Society’s 75th Annual Juried Exhibition and most recently accepted to the 2019 Audubon Artists 77th Annual Exhibition at the Salmagundi Club, New York, NY, October 28-Nov 8. Very exciting!

Congratulations to MaryLou for her well deserved recognition as an artist.  We are posting her latest work separately.  —

Marylou’s cats  remind me of the Broadway show “Cats” where each cast member is unique.

Here is the most famous song from the show Cats:  “Memory”   (not memories). This version is from the original Broadway cast album.

–Paul Goldfinger, Editor @Blogfinger.net