lisa zador and a mathematical cat

image copyright and by kindest permission of Lisa Zador

You knew it. You knew there was a reason why your cat keeps examining you with that analytical look in her eyes. Why she always lands on her feet. How she can leap up and do a triple lindy in midair after that pesky fly and never miss a step. Well, Manhattan artist Lisa Zador has painted it all for you. Here's her "Portrait of a Mathematical Cat," just one of a world full of clever creatures. You can meet them all at her perfectly named Etsy shop, Curious Portraits.

Of this particular portrait Lisa writes, "This is a portrait of Atticus, a genius among cats. Always obsessed with mathematical logic as a youngster he went on to become one of the leading cats in his field."*

Lisa herself is an artist and animal lover living and working as an illustrator / textile designer in New York for over 20 years. Originally from Philadelphia, she now shares her home in Manhattan’s West Village with her dog Bingo. Her first dog Toby was the inspiration for her portraits of dogs and cats. He became the subject of many Christmas cards over the years, which eventually led to having 2 books of animal portraits published by Stewart, Tabori and Chang in 2001: The Well Bred Dog and The Well Bred Cat.

also copyright and kindest permission of lisa zador

This is Lisa's portrait of Rosie, the unexpected Chihuahua, who came to live with Lisa and Bingo after her "mom" passed away. Though she has some health challenges and is now pretty much blind, she's still alive and kicking! Animals are great that way. Bless you, Rosie!

More on Lisa: she's nothing if not nostalgic, and you can feel her fondness for good things and days gone by in her work. "I feel that everyday objects close to our hearts have their own noble beauty just because they mean so much to us," Lisa says. "I try to bring out their unique qualities and a little of the personalities I see in their faces. Seeing them come to life on the canvas is always a magical moment for me! I work in oil on either canvas or wood panel in a traditional technique called grisaille. This just means that I begin with an under-painting using sepia and white and then build the color up through a series of subsequent glazes. I believe this technique gives the paintings a special inner glow and depth."

And it certainly does. You'll find something to love both at her Etsy shop and at her website Lisa Zador. She does a particularly fine squirrel, I'll tell you.

*He's also featured in The Well Bred Cat (available at Amazon.com), written by James Waller.