Giovane Cedar Art
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  • PAINTINGS 1
    • Waterfall
    • The Frog Poet
    • Ginkgos & Waxwings
    • Eagle's Pride
    • Spring in Bloom
    • Flower Moon in May
    • Northwest Rain Kosode
    • Snow on the Beach
    • It Only Takes One
    • Scattered Fans
    • White Circle of Silence
    • In the Spirit of Serizawa & Kubota
  • Paintings 2
    • Autumn Introspection
    • Bats' Lunar Playground
    • Foxgloves Reaching for the Sky
    • Plum Tree on a Snowy Night
    • Autumn Moon by the Sea
    • Chickadee in the Snow
    • Down by the Stream on a Lazy Summer's Day
    • Towhee & Currant in Spring
    • Sparrow's Spring
    • Autumn Grasses (Oribe Tribute)
    • A Tribute to Itchiku Kubota: Ozette Sunset
    • Cathedral of the Trees
    • Baillie Scott Trinity
    • Raven's Forest
    • Eagle Embraces Her
  • Paintings 3
    • The Guardian
    • Crows at Sunset
    • Cormorants
    • Skagit Scene
    • Dream Birds
    • Curious Crow
    • Hydrangea's Final Bloom
    • Pine Island
    • The Four Guardians
    • Circle About the Moon
    • Eelgrass Nursery Rhyme
    • Cedar Green Man
    • Serizawa's Kimono
    • Cats United
  • Paintings 4
    • Dance to the Moon
    • As Autumn Approaches
    • Echizen Crows
    • The Spirit of Fallen Camellias
    • Temple Hawk
    • Goldfinch Dream
    • Autumn Carpet
    • An Eala Bahn (The White Swan)
    • Horse Ema
    • Lucia's Maple
    • Eagles Spring Dance
    • Watts Chapel Tribute Memorial
    • Voysey's tree
  • Blog Page
  • Other Work
    • Paintings 5 >
      • Cedar Waxwing
      • Spotted Towhee
      • Stellar's Jay
      • Evening Grossbeak
      • Red Breasted Nuthatch
      • Black-Capped Chickadee
      • Cardinal
      • Camellias in Bloom Woodblock Print
      • Hot Otter Love
      • č’u•? is Seal
      • Loons & Horses
      • Hawk on a Pine 1
      • Elk Along the South Fork
      • Spirits of Ozette
      • Lingcod Guardian
      • Plum Blossoms in Spring
      • Journey Home From Ozette Island
      • Tsooes Sunset
    • Boxes >
      • Rose Tree Box
      • Celtic Bread Box
      • Creature of the Box
      • Kells Cats Chest
      • Miyamoto's Rice Box
    • Trays >
      • Dragonfly Tray
      • Kaiseki Tray
    • Karakami Square Series >
      • Karakami Square #1: Cherry Tree
    • Screens >
      • Eagles 2-Panel Folding Screen
      • The Four Seasons Screen Series >
        • Winter Screen: Eagle & Pine
        • Fall Screen: Canada Geese & Maples
        • Spring Screen: Cherry Trees & Finches
        • Summer Screen: Swallows & Willow
      • Frog's House Screen
      • Waterfall Screen
    • Peacock Sconces
  • Resources List
  • Catalog
  • Sold Paintings
  • Gifted Art & Personal Collection
  • Night at Marymere Falls
  • Eagle on a Pine
  • Skagit Landscape of the Mind: Full Moon at Midnight
  • Eggplant Harvest
  • Tomatoes & Wisteria Entwined
  • Running the Waves
  • When the Salmon Run
  • Autumn Deer
  • Dunlin Flight
  • The Fox Spirit (kitsune)
  • Crow on a Snowy Branch
  • Skagit Landscape of the Mind V: Winter's Cool
  • Trees IV
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KELLS CATS CHEST
ACRYLICS ON WHITE PINE
(SPRING 2009)
     As a continuation of my plans to do my art on useful items such as boxes, I planned to make a chest with cats.  I remember seeing Celtic cats (or the Lion of St. Mark) from the book of Kells.  Sir Edward Sullivan’s description of the Book of Kells (©1988, Bracken Books) and George Bain’s Celtic Art: The Methods of Construction (©1997, Redwood Books) both provided ideas and examples.  I had included a cat and mouse design on a previous painting of loons that I made for Doug and Esther Siegel back in the late 90s or early 2000s.  So, I decided to make cats the main focus of the design, and this has been my most Celtic-styled design to date.  For this box design, the greatest help came from a CD-ROM digitized version of the Book of Kells produced by Trinity College Dublin (©2004).  Northwest Coast Native chest designs from the northern region (especially Haida, Tlingit, & Tsimshian) typically have a formalized animal family-crest design on the front and back, with more abstract sides.  I wanted to continue this tradition on my chest.  The chest front showing two crossing cats was influenced by the following pages from the Book of Kells: 19 verso, 40 recto, 72 verso, 111 recto, 309 verso, and 335 recto.  In addition 48 recto shows a cat catching a mouse---and I wanted to add mice with the cats, just for fun.  The chest back showing two relaxing cats was influenced by the following pages from the Book of Kells: 69 recto, 83 recto, 183 verso, and 280 recto.  The chest sides showing cat/lion heads in profile were influenced by the following pages from the Book of Kells: 114 verso, 124 recto, and 285 recto as well as page 113 in George Bain’s book.  I made the top to be playful again, showing mice with “pussy” willows.  The willow design came from a tablecloth we have that I particularly like.  However, a big problem emerged with this chest.  I made it out of pine planks, and this soft & cheap wood began to warp.  Ultimately I could not really put this top on the box because of its warp and poor fit.  This first top now hangs on our upper bathroom wall and I made a new top out of hemlock planks (winter break 2009), painted it flat black, and embellished it with copper tacks.  


DIMENSIONS:   LENGTH:  19 inches
                             WIDTH:     11inches
                             HEIGHT:   12 inches

                                                            PRICE $550
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