Friday, March 29, 2024
black catscat photographsdaily photomr. sunshine

Daily Photo Reprise: To Sleep, Perchance to Dream, 2011

To Sleep...
To Sleep…

Just because it’s one of my all-time favorite photos of Sunshine having a summer nap on his back…

No living creature sleeps better than a cat. Out of my cats, Mr. Sunshine seems to sink deepest into dreamland, rolling on his back and simply collapsing into whatever heap of plushy black fur his limbs go to, toes curled, mouth open, all afternoon. I often wonder what sweet dreams his feline imagination composes for his unconscious enjoyment; he is motionless, not running or nursing or doing anything in his sleep, just slowly breathing. I imagine him imagining himself sleeping in some quiet field in the sunshine with a light breeze and birds singing.

He usually does this on top of the file cabinets in front of the window where I can turn to watch him in repose, a little tingle of jealousy in my belly; but I like what I do, I enjoy spending my days in pursuit of truth and beauty and, I’ll admit, enough almighty dollars to pay the bills, I really wouldn’t want to sleep my life away. No, I wouldn’t, and I’m happy Mr. Sunshine is here, sleeping his life away on my filing cabinets instead of some less desirable alternative.

When I first took this photo I was so angry with myself for framing it badly, not capturing the lower part of Sunshine’s head and body, and while I liked the focus on his nose and the softened focus on all else, I thought it would have been a better photo with all the rest of him in there; in fact, it might just be confusing cropped the way it was. But the photo stayed with me for days and I realized it was absolutely perfect the way I’d shot it, the nose, the curled paw, the relaxed hind paws, the tail stopped in mid swash when he fell asleep. I cropped the excess from the top—a tall, narrow image was what I’d been angling for—and left him in a heap at the bottom. As I said above, it’s one of my all-time favorites.


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All images used on this site are copyrighted to Bernadette E. Kazmarski unless otherwise noted and may not be used without my written permission. Please ask if you are interested in using one in a print or internet publication. If you are interested in purchasing a print of this image or a product including this image, check my Etsy shop or Fine Art America profile to see if I have it available already. If you don’t find it there, visit Ordering Custom Artwork for more information on a custom greeting card, print or other item.


© 2014 | www.TheCreativeCat.net | Published by Bernadette E. Kazmarski

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Weekly schedule of features:
Sunday: Essays, Pet Loss, Poetry, The Artist’s Life
Monday: Adoptable Cats, TNR & Shelters
Tuesday: Rescue Stories
Wednesday: Commissioned Portrait or Featured Artwork
Thursday: New Merchandise
Friday: Book Review, Health and Welfare, Advocacy
Saturday: Your Backyard Wildlife Habitat, Living Green With Pets, Creating With Cats
And sometimes, I just throw my hands in the air and have fun!

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Bernadette

From health and welfare to rescue and adoption stories, advocacy and art, factual articles and fictional stories, "The Creative Cat" offers both visual and verbal education and entertainment about cats for people who love cats, pets and animals of all species.

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