All About Art, Animals, and Pet Portraits

In episode 11, I welcome my guest, Ciara Barsotti. Ciara is an artist and pet portraitist living in Chico, CA with her husband and their two cats, William Blake and Nobody. Her and husband are also expecting their first baby in December. Ciara is an animal lover who grew up with a menagerie of wonderful pets. As an artist, she explores and celebrates her love for nature and animals through her work. She also captures the personality of others’ pets through her commissioned pet portraits.

Ciara also wanted to share some of her art with all of you, my listeners. She created a special all dogs coloring page! You can download it at the link below. Print as many copies as you would like and share with your friends!

https://www.ciarabarsotti.com/petstory

Ciara also discussed a local animal rescue and foster organization she follows. 
Wags & Whiskers is a no-kill, all foster network saving animals in the Chico area. To learn more, visit their website or Instagram account listed below.

http://www.wagsandwhiskerspetrescue.com

https://www.instagram.com/wagsandwhiskerspetrescue

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https://patreon.com/thestoryofmypetpod?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=creatorshare_creator

As always, you can visit my website to join our email list and learn more about being a guest on a future episode.

https://linktr.ee/allthingspetsdrjulie

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https://instagram.com/thestoryofmypetpodcast

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Transcript

Episode 11: All About Art, Animals, and Pet Portraits

Transcript

[00:00:00]
 Hello. Hello, Hello my friends and fellow animal lovers. Welcome to another episode of the story of my pet podcast. As always, I'm your host, Julie Marty-Pearson.
 
 [00:00:10]
 So I'm here to welcome a new guest to the podcast today, Ciara Barsotti. Hello. Thank you so much for being here. Hi, thanks for having me. I'm so excited to talk.

 Ciara is an artist and pet portraitist living in Chico, California, with her husband and two cats, William Blake and Nobody.
 
 [00:00:31]
 And we're definitely going to be talking about those names. And she has a baby on the way due December 2. So lots of exciting and fun things for us to talk to. Thank you again, Ciara, for being here. So I have to say first, we were already talking about the weather.
 
 [00:00:47]
 She is in Chico, which is about, I want to say, four to 5 hours north of where I live in California. So we were commiserating on the very hot weather. So we have some things in common. Besides that, we are both definitely cat ladies. Indeed.
 
 [00:01:04]
 We both currently have two cats. I have two cats as well, so I think we're going to get along very well. I actually think I connected with you through social through one of my friends. And one of your friends, Charissa Castillo-Ramsey. Yes, she is a friend of mine who is also a life coach, and she works with entrepreneurs that are creative, including artists.
 
 [00:01:27]
 So I think that's how maybe we connected. Yes. Have you always been an animal lover, a cat lover since you were a kid? Yeah, I've always loved animals, always wanted to have a menagerie and my mom definitely raised me that way.
 
 [00:01:46]
 We got our first family dog when I was about four years old. He was Dachshund. And I actually named him Toby after the Bassett Hound and the Great Mouth Detective. Oh, how cute. So, yeah, and he was great, just perfect family dog.
 
 [00:02:03]
 Of course, dachshunds are super yappy. That was his only downfall. Yes, I have dogs that definitely they're very lovable, but they let you know they're around. Oh, yes, they do. Yeah.
 
 [00:02:17]
 But he was great. He would wrestle with my little brother, and he was a great little bed warmer. He loved to burrow under the covers. And then I got my first cat when I was probably eight or nine, who was a gray tabby, and I named him Hogarth after the main character and the Iron Giant. Okay, so lots of movie the movie names continue.
 
 [00:02:42]
 Yeah. And from there we had rats and birds and fish and frogs and all kinds of things. Yeah. And a menagerie. We were into it.
 
 [00:02:55]
 I got really into reptiles in high school. My brother and I both had several lizards and snakes between us, and I also had horses for a couple of years in high school. Oh, wow. Yeah. You really had a menagerie.
 
 [00:03:10]
 Yes. That's amazing. I'm jealous. I only grew up with dogs and a few fish, but my husband grew up with reptiles and he still has them. Unfortunately.
 
 [00:03:21]
 We have about currently about eight spiders in our house right now. That's okay. Yeah, we never got into the arachnids. Yeah, that's great, though. It sounds like you really got to experience all the different amazing things different animals can bring to your life.
 
 [00:03:38]
 Yeah, for sure. Did you favorite one type of animal over the other as you were growing up with all these different or did you just love them all?
 
 [00:03:50]
 I love all animals. I mean, I definitely had phases. I was 100% a horse girl. I would run around on all fours. I could do all the different gate, I think, for like, a talent show at summer camp.
 
 [00:04:05]
 I demonstrated and jumped over, like, three volunteers on all four. Oh, my God. So, yeah, I was very into horses. I started taking lessons probably around eight. And yeah, we moved to a new town where we were able to get a little bit of land, and that's when we were able to actually do the horse thing.
 
 [00:04:26]
 And that was really fun. That's cool. Yeah. I always say I would hope someday to have land and then be able to have lots of different animals, but also a lot of work. So I'm trying to learn that early.
 
 [00:04:39]
 Yes, for sure. I think these days I'd love to have chickens and maybe some goats, and that's about all I could handle at this point. Yes. So now you currently have two cats. Yes.
 
 [00:04:52]
 So tell us about them and how they came into your life. Yeah, I got married pretty young. I met my husband when I was still in high school. We got married about a year after I graduated, and ever since, we've lived in places where he was a student for a long time, PhD student. So we were moving around a lot, trying to find really affordable housing.
 
 [00:05:17]
 We're living in Santa Cruz, California, and it's in that area particularly difficult to find places that allow pets. Right. And we hadn't really explored the emotional support animal side of things, which, like, I also was struggling with depression at the time, and it would have been a legit. Like, my doctor even wrote me a note, and we just never pulled the trigger. Partly for financial reasons too.
 
 [00:05:42]
 I mean, it was an expensive place to live. He was a student. I was working part time and making art on the side. Things didn't really ever come together, so I spent a good five or six years without any pets. Okay.
 
 [00:05:57]
 Yeah. And I missed it. I missed them a lot. He knew he wanted he's definitely more of a cat person than anything else. Okay.
 
 [00:06:04]
 So I was like, we're going to get cats. That will be our first thing. And then we moved to Virginia, a temporary position for him. And we were in a place that allowed pets and we were making a little more money and so the time felt right and we went to I really wanted a black cat. That was my one criteria.
 
 [00:06:25]
 So we went to the PetSmart who was hosting local shelter animals. We went to see this one year old black cat and turns out he had a sister with him and they were a bonded pair. And we actually saw her first. She had like her face smashed up against the glass and she had like a little steam thing going in the corner. It's really attractive.
 
 [00:06:55]
 And I said something disparaging about her and he was like, I like that one. And it turned out that she was the one that came with the black cat that we had come to see. So we were able to get in and visit with them and their personalities just were immediately apparent. Like who is now William Blake. My black cat ran straight up to me and started rubbing his face on my face and just being a little love.
 
 [00:07:21]
 And then our other cat, Nobody, she went immediately for the bag of the volunteer. She just wanted to see what was in the bag and then she wanted to explore all the corners and then she went over to Jamie, my husband.
 
 [00:07:40]
 And they have just been that way ever since. Nobody is the explorer and William Blake is the love bug for sure. Although I will say Nobody and my husband have quite a deep bond. They are cuddle buddies for sure. I love that.
 
 [00:07:54]
 I love that. So many things shout out to the cat, dad listening. Shout out for black cats. They get a bad rap, but they're amazing cats. And they are actually there's a lot of research out that shows black cats are the least adopted in shelters and organizations.
 
 [00:08:13]
 So always look for back black cats. I love that that's who you were going there to meet specifically. So then are they both all black. Or no, William Blake is all black. He has like one white hair coming out of his chest.
 
 [00:08:28]
 Just one. And then Nobody is a tabby. She's a brown tabby. Okay. Yeah.
 
 [00:08:35]
 And she's actually really unique looking. I'm not sure I'd love to get them DNA tested because I think she's got a little bit of Persian or something in her. Yeah. But they both have really big bright eyes. I love that.
 
 [00:08:49]
 Yeah. Big bright yellow eyes and yeah. They came to us as a pair. They're about the same age. They were found together.
 
 [00:08:57]
 Of course, we went thinking we were just going to come home with one cat and we came home with two. And that was seriously the best decision we ever made. Like, we love having the two of them together. Not only do they get along great, but they keep themselves entertained, they keep themselves company, and they are so funny to watch together. And like I mentioned, they have definitely bonded with each of us.
 
 [00:09:20]
 So it's really nice to kind of each have our own little cuddle buddy. Yeah, I love that, that you have one that is kind of eat your own. I think that's always important. And oftentimes the animals decide who that is, not us. Absolutely.
 
 [00:09:36]
 But I think what you're saying is so true. Adopting cats, especially in pairs, is so important, and I think that's something that people should always think about if you're starting new. Having a bonded pair is so amazing because, like you said, they have that built in best friend. They have somebody to play with, somebody to hang out with. And a lot of times, if you're looking in shelters and there's a litter, getting litter mates is amazing because they have that bond from beginning.
 
 [00:10:04]
 And it sounds like that's exactly what yours did. Yeah, absolutely. And I think people might get overwhelmed with the thought of getting two when they're going in for one, but honestly, for cats in particular, the costs aren't that much more to get to and the benefits totally outweigh that. That is very true. Yeah.
 
 [00:10:25]
 When we take them to the vet, they'll give us a discount for bringing them in together. Oh, that's great. Yeah. So we only have to pay, like, one tech fee or something. Yeah.
 
 [00:10:37]
 So there's like, little benefits worked in there. And then, like I said, they're just hilarious to watch together. And we don't mind. Like, we feel way less bad leaving them on vacation and having someone come check on them because we know that they have each other to keep each other company. Absolutely.
 
 [00:10:55]
 I think that's so important. When I adopted my first cat as a kid, he was so sociable. He loved everybody. But once I got the second, about less than a year later, it was such a difference because they had each other to cuddle with, they had each other to play with. And like you said, I didn't feel guilty leaving them because they had somebody there.
 
 [00:11:15]
 Yes. And especially the cost in terms of litter and cat food and things like that, there isn't much difference when you go from one to two, it's definitely not definitely worth it. So that's amazing. So are they both inside only cats? Yes, we currently keep them both inside only.
 
 [00:11:34]
 We just moved into a place that has a patio that is just primed to become a patio. Oh, yeah. And I know that nobody would love that because if she notices that we've got a lot of people coming in and out, like visitors and stuff, william Blake will go hide, but she will park herself by the door and wait for someone to open it so that she can try to escape. Her whole goal is to get outside. Unfortunately, when she gets outside, which is pretty frequent, she runs about 10ft and then starts yowing and swishing her tail.
 
 [00:12:08]
 And it's just excited to be out there, but all you got to do is walk up and grab her. So I know that she would love a catio, but yeah, we keep them inside. There's actually a ton of cats in our neighborhood, but we don't want them to get into fights. Their coats are super nice and clean. We'd like to keep it that way.
 
 [00:12:28]
 Yeah, and I know we keep ours inside to protect them. Like you said, they can get into fights. We have feral cats in our neighborhood, too, and we don't want them to get sick from one of them or anything like that. I keep trying the patio angle with my husband. He's a carpenter, so it's definitely a possibility.
 
 [00:12:48]
 But we have a side yard that he gardens in, so he does let them go out with him when he oh, perfect. Yeah. Our tappy crunchy loves it. She will roll on the grass and it's the sweetest thing. So, yeah, patios are the best.
 
 [00:13:05]
 I've heard they're worth the investment. Yeah, absolutely. So part of your love of animals, I would say comes out through your art. Have you always been an artist since you were young or where did that come from? Yeah, I've been drawing and painting since I could hold a pencil, and it's always been animals.
 
 [00:13:27]
 Through my horse phase, it was all horses. Through my reptile phase, it was all dragons, but always animals. I was always drawing cats and dogs, and they're still one of my favorite subjects of all time. When I started making art and taking classes, I did a lot of animal subjects, so I would do a lot of exotic animals. I'm thinking back to my old colored pencil days when I was in high school.
 
 [00:13:54]
 I did a sea turtle and a macaw and a tiger, and it's just really fun to get to explore the different I mean, animals offer us such a huge array of color and texture and light. They're such great subjects. It's just endless. I would say that's so true because even the expression and their coats and the colors and whatever animal it is or their scales, there's so many elements to them in terms of capturing them in art. I think that must be so interesting and exciting way to make art for other people.
 
 [00:14:35]
 Yeah, absolutely. And then the pet portraits again, you've got an infinite number of critters, and you can see their personalities and all their unique markings and yeah, I love getting multiple pictures from people because then I can kind of get a better sense of the pet's personality and help that come through. That's amazing. So I noticed with your pet portrait specifically, you do a couple of different kinds. You want to talk about that?
 
 [00:15:04]
 Yeah, so I developed kind of a tattoo style that was one of my first offerings, and that is very cool. I really love those. Yeah, folks have actually taken them to tattoo artists to get them tattooed. That's what I was wondering, because when I first met you, virtually, I noticed you had so many different options, and the cat tattoo aspect was very different than anything I've seen. So that's really amazing.
 
 [00:15:34]
 Yeah, and that one's fun because you can throw a lot of your personality in there, too. Like, usually there's a floral or a plant element, so you can put your favorite plants and favorite flowers, and then there's a little banner with a tattoo font of the pet's name. And then often people will throw in with a dog, a favorite toy, or even a cat. Like, I've got a cat portrait with springs and a laptop because that's what the cat loves. Oh, my gosh, that's amazing.
 
 [00:16:08]
 And I think what I love about that is I know for me, I have a lot of different types of arts I've gotten of my cast over the years. But a lot of times with listeners, guests on my podcast, we talk about grief when losing a pet. And so I'm sure your pet portraits must be a really great way for people to have that piece of their pet and have it expressed through your art. Yeah, absolutely. And I also have an ink drawing option, which is all black and white.
 
 [00:16:39]
 A lot of people opt for that because it's a little more somber. And then there's also an acrylic or a watercolor, and those are more traditional. So I've kind of got a range of options for the personality of your own personality or who you might be shopping for as a gift for memorial. But, yeah, the memorial portraits are extra special. And I always hear back when I make people cry, which I'm like, yes, but also I'm sorry.
 
 [00:17:06]
 Right? Yeah, you don't need to open the wound. But I'm glad it was effective, right. When, you know, they have that reaction that you really brought them back to life. That's so funny because I was looking at your art and thinking, which one of my cats am I going to have done?
 
 [00:17:26]
 And then I realized so much of my art now is of my two current cats. And the first two cats I have way back, I got one in oh, hello, Kitty. Here's William Blake. Hello, William Blake. It's nice to meet you.
 
 [00:17:41]
 I realized I got them in 2002 and 2003, so even back then, I don't have as many pictures because we didn't have the camera on our phone and all of that. And so I thought, that's definitely something I think I'm going to work with you on is get some portraits of them. So I have them because I love just looking at them and remembering all the amazing times and oh, my gosh, William Blake just saying hi to me, giving me some perfect views of his beautiful eyes. Yeah, he's a cutie. I keep a basket.
 
 [00:18:13]
 It's like a fabric basket right here on my desk. So he's got somewhere to sit next to me. Otherwise he would be in my arms constantly. I was just going to ask you how you handle him when you're trying to work on your art. Yeah, it is something.
 
 [00:18:30]
 Usually I work off an easel, or if I'm working on my table, it's a small enough space. And he does have his little basket. But if I'm ever just doing computer work, he will definitely choose my arms. If I'm not writing or drawing or something, he would much rather sit in my arms. There's something about caps and desks and laptops.
 
 [00:18:53]
 They're like saying to us, I don't know how you're going to figure this out to work, but you're going to have to make it work. Yes. So I wanted to talk a little bit about your other art. I noticed there's a lot of animals in that too. But some of the art I saw was really amazing because it's like a portrait, but then almost like a line drawing of animals on top of it.
 
 [00:19:13]
 Can you talk about that a little? Yeah, that's a technique I've been developing for about four or five years now. It started with a series called Space Cowgirls, which is desert landscapes, and then figures, female figures in kind of retro space suit. And the figures are done in tracing paper and pencil, which I then put over the acrylic landscape. So it creates a really interesting kind of ephemeral, almost transcendent look.
 
 [00:19:43]
 And then I've taken that forward to I'm kind of still dabbling in it, but I'm wrapping up a series called Birds of Bidwell, which is Bidwell Park is a local city park here in Chico. And I've been hiking and running in the area for a couple of years now, taking pictures along the way. And then I'm accompanied by birds. Every time I go out, they're just everywhere. Right.
 
 [00:20:08]
 So I use that same technique where I take landscape paintings and then pencil drawings on tracing paper and put that over the painting. So this series is local birds and local scenery. And I've got that hanging up in a local shop right now. The whole series, the remaining I've sold a few of them. I keep switching them out as they sell.
 
 [00:20:31]
 Yeah, so that's been really fun. It's a great way to combine my love of painting with my love of drawing. I love to draw my animals just because that's what I've done since I was a kid. Right. And then I love to paint my landscapes because you get to get in there with all the texture and color and fun stuff.
 
 [00:20:50]
 So I get to do both in these paintings. Yeah. That's amazing. I have to say, when I saw that, I don't think I've ever seen anything like I haven't seen a technique like that before. And it is really amazing.
 
 [00:21:00]
 I remember one that it was a landscape, and then I had like a fish or a trout in mind yes. And I thought, that's such an interesting way because you're bringing in they're both aspects of nature, but in such different ways and combining them. It really is beautiful, I really have to say. Yeah. Thank you.
 
 [00:21:21]
 Yeah, that one's from my Alaska series. That one's kind of been ongoing since my husband and I took a trip up there about this time last year. Oh, my gosh. Alaska is amazing. I can imagine.
 
 [00:21:34]
 You must have been so inspired there. Yeah, I was taking pictures the whole time, and we didn't see any moves until we got into Anchorage, and then we saw two in town. It was crazy amazing. Yeah, that's definitely a bucket list place for me. So I can imagine for you as an artist and an animal for you.
 
 [00:21:53]
 Must have been yes, absolutely. So much to inspire you. Yeah, it was amazing. So, yeah, I actually have a piece on the easel now that's from Photos I took there, and I think I'm going to be painting Alaska like I'll be painting the desert for a long while. Yeah.
 
 [00:22:10]
 Forever. That's amazing. No, I love that because I think and that's another way, if you think about it, our travels, we take so many pictures, but it doesn't really capture what it's like to be there. Yeah.
 
 [00:22:28]
 And I will say my landscapes are not photo realistic, and I tend to really punch up my colors. That's my way of trying to capture the essence of the place, you know, because like you say, Photos can't capture it, and they definitely can't capture all the emotions you're feeling when you're in these spaces. Obviously, that's what I love about art, is I'm able to communicate a lot more than just an image of a place. And I think that's an important way to communicate nature and animals and things that sometimes Photos definitely can't do, no matter how great of a photography you may be. I mean, there's amazing photography for animals and things like that, but it's just such a different and that gets into.
 
 [00:23:16]
 Its own art form at that point, too. It's not just taking a picture. Yeah, absolutely. For sure. Yeah.
 
 [00:23:21]
 It's all art. But I think the way you're capturing it is so unique and different. I think it's just really amazing. Thank you. When you first started doing art as your full time job, baby, is it your full time job now?
 
 [00:23:35]
 It's not currently. Yeah, I'm still working a day job, and that really of course, I would love to do it full time. Who wouldn't? But it has allowed me to kind of do what I want versus worrying so much about what I think will sell. Right.
 
 [00:23:53]
 And ironically, I think that's where what people are drawn to is what's authentically you. So I'm kind of in this intermediate space as it grows. But yeah, that's the ultimate goal, to do it full time. Well, and I have to say, my perspective not that it maybe means anything with your talent. I could see how it could, especially because you kind of have these two roads where one is doing it for your client and bringing a live their pets and then the other, as you said, it's so beautiful because it's inspired by your own experience and things that you're able to bring out from nature.
 
 [00:24:32]
 So that's amazing you're able to do both. Yeah, it's fun. It keeps me on my toes. There's always something to explore in art. Yes.
 
 [00:24:43]
 And I noticed that it looks like right now you do have your list open for commissions for your pet portraits. Is that still available? Yes, it is currently still available. It's August already. Looking ahead to Christmas.
 
 [00:24:59]
 And of course I'm due to have a baby in December too, so I'm probably going to be cutting off pet portrait commissions sometime end of October. Okay. So that's something for folks to keep in mind if they wanted to get a gift for Christmas or a gift for themselves for Christmas, right? Yes. And so our listeners, I will link all of Kiera, her social media account.
 
 [00:25:22]
 You can follow her on Instagram and also directly through her website so you can look at her heart and learn about the options you have. If you're interested in having her do a pet portrait, I would highly recommend it. Just from what I've seen online, she definitely brings the pets to life. I'd also asked you about an organization you know about in your area that helps with rescuing and adopting now animals. And you told me about Wags and Whiskers.
 
 [00:25:50]
 Yeah. So Wags and Whiskers is a no kill organization. They don't have a shelter location. They're all foster. They're kind of a foster network.
 
 [00:26:00]
 They do have adoption weekends where they'll bring a bunch of dogs and a few cats out to one central location. Actually, that's what my husband and I are planning on doing in about a year to get our first dog is to go to one of those adoption weekends. Oh, how exciting. Yeah, for sure. My husband is like, why do we need more things?
 
 [00:26:21]
 We'll have a baby, we'll have two cats. I'm like, yeah, but it just adds to the joy.
 
 [00:26:29]
 He was kind of hemming and hawing when we first got the cats, and of course now he's in love, so I know that we'll get the right dog and he will not be able to imagine life without them. But struggle is so real, and I hear more and more. Every Fur mom I talk to talks about the Fur dad that keeps her realistic about the number. Yes. But then somehow they always become the one that's super bonded to at least one of the pets.
 
 [00:26:54]
 Yes. And I go. Wasn't it worth it? Yes, I totally get it. One of our cats was almost divorce causing for me and my husband, and now, of course, they are the most bonded so.
 
 [00:27:12]
 It's how it works, how it goes. Yeah. But I think it sounds like you're really trying to plan in terms of your family. I mean, you'll have a new baby, but you know from your own experience how amazing it is for babies to grow up, not just with cats, but with dogs. Absolutely.
 
 [00:27:27]
 Yeah. I see a lot of kids that are scared of dogs because they didn't grow up with them. And I have virtually no fear around dogs. Maybe I should have more fear around strange dogs, but I'll talk to friends as far as I'm concerned. Absolutely.
 
 [00:27:44]
 I agree. Yeah. I want our kids to have a similar experience and just the comfort of familiarity. Obviously, you can't beat if it's in your own home, right? Yeah, absolutely.
 
 [00:27:56]
 And I think the younger they are, the more the bond is. They literally have no memories without them. Exactly. Yeah. And it's also good for the dog to be used to them from a young age, because I think that helps from their perspective as well.
 
 [00:28:11]
 Yeah, for sure. We were thinking about getting a dog before having a baby, but I've heard so many stories of people whose dogs just feel neglected, and you can see that and obviously you can't plan everything perfectly all the time. But I feel really grateful to have the opportunity to decide, okay, we're going to bring a dog in. It will know the kid is part of the equation. It should be pretty ideal as far as what we can control.
 
 [00:28:42]
 No, I think that's important because since you are a family right now of just cats and that's what your norm is, and you're bringing your baby into that, and then you can add the next type of pet on after the baby. Yeah. One step at a time. I think that's really important because I think it's so important for anyone, whether you're a single person, a married couple, a family, to really think about that. In adopting a pet, you want to think about you, your kids, or whatever it may be, but you also want to think about the pet because it's not fair to bring them in and get them used to a situation that you know is changing quickly.
 
 [00:29:18]
 Right. And that can be stressful on them and on you. So I think that's amazing. You guys are thinking ahead. Yes.
 
 [00:29:27]
 Trying to as much as possible. Yes. And that's important for families come in all different shapes and sizes, and they all work differently. But that is so important. I think it's so important for kids to grew up with pets of all kinds because, as you said, they're more comfortable, they understand how it's appropriate to play with them or not.
 
 [00:29:47]
 Yeah. And I think empathy comes out of that too. Being able to relate to outside of your own species, I think is a skill, for sure. And I feel like I have a natural ability to read. Most animals, and I kind of take that for granted, just with the experience I have and the comfort level I have and yeah, I think obviously it's a privilege to be able to keep pets.
 
 [00:30:13]
 I'm really grateful for it every day. I'm grateful for these cats every single day. I'm really excited to share that with our kids. Yeah, I think you really summed it up really amazingly, because no matter what your situation is, pets just add value and quality to your life, whether it's one cat or a fish or three dogs. Whatever your combo is, it's just value added.
 
 [00:30:38]
 Yeah, absolutely. So much more of the time when we rescue them, they're really rescuing us, and they're coming to us in a way that I don't know, I wouldn't be able to live without mine. Yeah, for sure. How have your cats been with your pregnancy? I know sometimes cats are standing ashish or they're more lovable.
 
 [00:30:58]
 How has that been for you? Yeah, so I haven't noticed, like, a huge shift in behavior. Did notice at first. So they used to both sleep up by our heads, and then they moved down to our feet, which was interesting. Like, maybe more of a protective thing, possibly.
 
 [00:31:16]
 William Blake has gone back to sleeping up by our heads. He's like, okay, enough of that. Yeah. I think he's going to have the hardest time adjusting because right now he is my baby. He's going to have to share me.
 
 [00:31:30]
 Or he should say the baby is going to have to share you. Right, exactly. Yeah. We're definitely not going to be able to be cos sleepers because the cats have the bed. Yeah, I understand that.
 
 [00:31:43]
 If that was the case for me, it would be the same coming to an end. For this episode, I did want to bring your love of animals and your amazing artistic ability that you actually created something special for my podcast listeners, if you wanted to tell us a little bit about that. So I created a coloring page of I think it's, like, ten really popular dog breeds here. I'm going to pull out my original over here. I love making coloring pages.
 
 [00:32:12]
 They're super fun. It's awesome. I love it. I'm pretty pleased with how they turned out. So I've got a dachshund, beagle, a poodle, a Frenchy, a corgi, a German shepherd, a pointer, a pitfall and a lab.
 
 [00:32:24]
 Some very popular dog breed, all of whom I have painted and drawn and would love to continue to paint and draw. But that's for you guys to print out as many as you want and color and share them with your friends, your kids, whoever. Yes. I can't wait to print my own and share with my friends. I was looking at it, thinking, oh, I can't wait to show my friends so and so.
 
 [00:32:48]
 Who has a Frenchy or whatever it is? Because it was so funny the first time I saw the page. The first thing I thought of was Disney movies. The way you grew the dogs just made me reminiscent of well, obviously my two movies growing up that were my favorite were 101 Dalmatians and lady in the Tramp. Yeah.
 
 [00:33:10]
 So it was amazing. It brought back memories to seeing it. So I can't wait for my listeners to see it and get to share it and color it and have fun with that. Yeah. Awesome.
 
 [00:33:22]
 Obviously, I was hugely influenced by Disney. Movies growing up, and I tended towards the dog ones growing up because we only had dogs. Right. I'm still waiting for the time when I get to have a Dalmatian. I'm not sure if that's ever going to happen.
 
 [00:33:39]
 I think it's important to inspire kids in that way. They see this in art, whether it's TV or movies or pictures, and they find their love for animals that way too, for sure. Excited to share that. Thank you very much for creating it. And as always, listeners, I will link the information to that coloring page in the show notes and all of my social media posts.
 
 [00:34:03]
 Well, Ciara, I just want to thank you for being here with me. I'm so happy. I can't wait for listeners to hear this and to be able to follow you and follow your art, because I think that it's going to be really amazing for people to see that. Awesome. Thank you so much and for sharing your wonderful kitties.
 
 [00:34:22]
 Yes, Mr. Williams Blake. Thank you for your appearance. And their pictures will be used when I publish this episode so people will get to meet them as well. Oh, yes.
 
 [00:34:35]
 They are very photogenic. They are gorgeous. Okay, thank you so much, listeners, and we'll see you next time. Bye.