Think Ahead for Mother’s and Father’s Day Commissioned Portraits

Sample Portrait Gift Certificate

If you’re thinking of a custom portrait as a gift for someone for Mother’s or Father’s Day, let’s get started now! From our beginning conversations to shipping the finished framed portrait to you takes about four weeks, and we’ll be just in time for Mother’s Day if we start now.

I also remind people that “pet parents” are parents as well and qualify for gifts in honor of these two holidays, so why not celebrate with a gift from your animal children?

While a custom commissioned portrait is a really unique gift, sometimes you can’t get the photos or you’d rather let the recipient design the portrait they want. I offer gift certificates for portraits in any denomination, but usually suggest $125.00 because it is the basic cost of a portrait, one subject in an area of about 10″ x 12″ depending on the subject matter. (The recipient is responsible for any amount the portrait costs over $125.00.)

For Our Grandparents, from 1992

How about all the children together, animal and human?

And even though I specialize in animals, I also paint people, and several times have painted portraits of people and their pets. I only have a few samples because some customers have requested privacy when the subjects were children and others haven’t given permission to be on the internet.

How the certificate works

The certificate itself is 8.5″ x 11″ and features a collage of portrait images with the recipient’s and giver’s names, printed on parchment cover stock. The whole thing is packaged in a pocket folder and includes a brochure, a letter from me to the recipient and several business cards. The certificate package can be easily mailed or wrapped as a gift and shipped directly to your recipient.

If you need your certificate in a hurry, let me know when you make your purchase, give me the name of the recipient and the holiday/event if any and I’ll e-mail you PDFs of the certificate, thank you letter and brochure so that you can print them out or forward them in e-mail. Please make sure you give me the e-mail where you want to receive them, especially if they are a surprise!

Christie on her warm towel.

Prices are quoted per job, and include only the drawing (no mat or framing; this is extra, see below). Portraits start at $125.00 per subject for a color 8″ x 10″; prices increase according to size and complexity of work. Adding a background, extra objects (toys, etc.) and additional subjects are extra according to their complexity. I reserve the right to limit the content according to the finished size so that the subjects don’t become so small that details are impossible. And remember, I can only do so much with some photographs!

Framing is charged as a separate item, and we can discuss the framing when you contract for your portrait.

Shadow, Casey and Ralph, a mother's day gift.

Certificate can be used for other subjects as well

Animal artwork is not limited to pictures of your own pets, but may include pictures of any sort—wildlife images, for instance. In addition to portraits of your pets, I also offer portraits of your people, your house, or any other item of which you may want a portrait. I can always hold on to a portrait until a holiday, birthday or other event arrives, and I can keep a secret if the portrait is a gift.

You are helping a long list of animal shelters and rescues

Your purchase of a certificate supports many shelters and animal welfare organizations because I also donate at least a half dozen certificates to benefit auctions every year where all proceeds of the sale go directly to the organization; your purchase helps me cover the costs of creating original art for the winners of these certificates. I’m always pleased to see they auction for more than their face value—in this way, I can “give” more to the organizations than I ever could in cash.

Carol and Smudge

Read about portraits and look at samples

You can read more about custom commissioned portraits on this site by clicking the tab at the top for Commissioned Pet Portraits and from there follow the links to my website.

You can also read stories about portraits on The Creative Cat, including progress images of more recent portraits and stories of portraits I’ve done in the past.

Take a look at other portraits and read other stories

Read articles here on The Creative Cat featuring current and past commissioned portraits.

Read about how I create commissioned portraits.

Commissioned Cat Portraits

Commissioned Dog Portraits

Visit my website to see portraits of my cats, commissioned cats, commissioned dogs, people and a demonstration of how I put a portrait together from photos.

To go directly to the Gift Certificate on my website, click here, or go to my Portraits of Animals shop on Etsy.

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 purchasing one as a print, or to use in a print or internet publication.

Another Place for My Art: Distinctively Different Decor…

Sophie Keeps an Eye on Things, photo © B.E. Kazmarski

Interior designer—and fellow cat rescuer—Bonita Farinelli and I met yesterday to consign a number of pieces of my artwork and prints to her Boutique at Distinctively Different Decor & More in Carnegie.

Borzois, pastel © B.E. Kazmarski

And you can have the chance to see it at her March Open House on Sunday, March 25, 2012.

Biding Time, print © B.E. Kazmarski

I’m so glad when my artwork can be out in the public, and when I’m not there with it I especially appreciate when it’s in the hands of a person who understands and respects it. Bonita is a fellow business owner in Carnegie and has converted a solid but sad unused building into a lovely place to look at, and plied her many skills and inspirations with fabrics, patterns and colors into works from handmade pillows to entire houses of unique colors, furniture and draperies.

Taking Flight, print © B.E. Kazmarski

I learned she was a cat lover when in her display for an event at Andrew Carnegie Free Library & Music Hall last year she included a pair of breathtaking modern-styled feline-themed lamps. At that event and subsequent events and mixers we began trading cat stories and creative ideas and knew a partnership would work.

Are You Looking at Me? © B.E. Kazmarski

Got art? How much do you want? You have the space, I can fill it up with many different styles and sizes and subjects from abstract black and white photography to highly detailed realistic paintings to whimsical layered and textured “white collages”.

Gateway Center, Pittsburgh, white collage © B.E. Kazmarski

I have a number of cat and dog works there as well as landscapes and photography, a mix of originals and prints, small and large, all framed and ready to hang.

Sophie and Ellie Being Very Good, print © B.E. Kazmarski

I hope to see you there at some point on Saturday! And soon I will be writing about Bonita’s animal-inspired creations as well!

Burnished Waves, pastel © B. E. Kazmarski

Bonita also has need of a framer so we’ll be working together on a number of things.

Sunset on the Bay, watercolor © B. E. Kazmarski

See you there!

Two Portraits, Choose One

Borzois, pastel, 1999 © B.E. Kazmarski

Too many ideas leads to two portraits, one for me and one for the customer!

Several years ago I had the pleasure of painting a portrait of two beautiful rescued Borzois, Icarus and Nellie. Their person was also a friend of mine and lived in an enviable remodeled home on a few hilltop acres with wonderful light and horses romping in the pasture next door.

Detail of faces.

I’d visited before and when she mentioned she’d like a portrait I began envisioning the two dogs and the places in her home and even outdoors in a fenced area where they could play. I knew she had photos but especially with larger animals, and one of them being primarily black, I was glad to be able to meet them and take photos of my own so that I could collect details. Back in the days of film, I had two 36-exposure rolls with me and all my lenses for my trusty little Pentax K-1000. The house was full of windows so lighting likely wouldn’t be an issue.

We followed the dogs around the house, Icarus, the big creamy white dog obviously being the boss and the smaller black and tan Nellie following orders and feeling safe near her big brother.

The inspiration for the above portrait.

She told me each had come from two different rescues from indiscriminate breeders who were breeding these huge dogs in apartments and condos. Nellie was noticeably smaller than usual because there were—talk about hoarding—over 70 Borzois inside one condo. Because of that overcrowding and the sheer number of dogs, she hadn’t been socialized well and was timid and skittish, but could simply be a happy dog and feel safe around her big brother.

Their favorite room was a spacious sunroom addition at the west end of the home which their person told me had been ambitiously begun by the home’s former owners. They had decided to complete the project and the two-story space would be a paradise for any animal or human. I was enchanted by Icarus, whose head was nearly at my shoulder, and smaller Nellie racing gracefully among the plants and wicker furniture and collectibles without touching a thing. I took plenty of photos of them playing along with detail shots of their faces in that wonderfully-balanced light.

Composite for facial portrait.

Arriving home with the photos I began to work on layouts for the portraits. She wanted a fairly large portrait and we had discussed just including their faces nearly life size, so I designed the layout with their faces above and below, befitting their relationship to each other. I could picture the colors I’d use in both creamy white and inky black fur and how I’d create the textures in each.

But I kept remembering their play in that sunny room and from one of the photos I’d taken. I designed another portrait with them standing together and a few plants around. This would not be a detailed and realistic portrait, more loose and impressionistic, capturing the light and color and motion I’d perceived. I knew my client would like that as well since I knew the work of other artists she’d purchased and commissioned as well as her other purchases of my art.

I proposed both ideas to her and showed her my layouts done in PhotoShop. She liked both as did I and we agreed I’d work up both of them and see what happened. She would choose one and I would get to keep the other, a great deal for me to have a live portrait on hand as an example.

Icarus and Nellie, pastel, 1999 © B.E. Kazmarski

In the end she chose the more realistic one of just the two faces because she wanted to remember the details of their expressions she’d loved so much, though I could tell the choice was difficult knowing how she loved an impressionistic style of painting.

I would have been happy with either one, but in the years since, whenever I’ve shown this painting in exhibits or at my tent in a festival it has always attracted people to come and study it, not just dog lovers or animal lovers, but the colors and composition are eye-catching to most people.

Borzois, framed.

Now that I have a good digital file of “Borzois”, I have the original for sale, framed, as you see above.

And both of these are two of the canine portraits I’ll be selling as prints and art cards beginning this year. “Borzois” is currently available as a full-size giclee print in my Etsy shop. I will post the other prints here on The Creative Cat as well as on Portraits of Animals Marketplace, but you can always check my Etsy shop to see what’s available right now.

______________________________

Read about other recent commissioned portraits here on The Creative Cat.
Read about how I create commissioned portraits.
Visit my website to see portraits of my cats, commissioned cats, commissioned dogs, people and a demonstration of how I put a portrait together from photos.

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 purchasing one as a print, or to use in a print or internet publication.

“Great Rescues” also available at my shop in Carnegie

 

I’ve set up a display of Great Rescues Calendar and Gift Book at my shop in Carnegie Antiques, 423 West Main Street in Carnegie.

Colorful gift bags take center stage.

I am there from 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. every Wednesday, and I’ll soon plan an event there as well when I also bring in other new merchandise for fall.

In addition to my hours on Wednesday, the shop is open 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Thursday and Friday, and 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Saturday.

If you live near me, please stop down for a visit! I have plenty of feline-themed merchandise to browse as well as wildlife, landscapes and other artwork, greeting cards, prints, photographs…oh, just stop down and see. I’ll be glad to sign your book with a dedication as well.

This will do as a throne.

One of these days when the weather cools down and I don’t have so many errands before and after, Cookie will be able to assist me once again during shop hours. I really miss her!

 

Greeting Card Sets: Animal Sympathy and Feline Art Cards, Flowers and More

Greeting Card Selection in My Shop

How quaint in this age of instant virtual communication—take a printed item that has an image and perhaps a sentiment, write your own note and send it off in the mail. Who would take the time to do that?

Plenty of people still do, and it’s a pleasure for both the giver and the receiver. I know I enjoy sending cards to friends for any occasion or none at all, and enjoy receiving cards in the mail, thinking of how the sender has chosen a card just for me and taken the time to write a note in it and mail it. I love browsing greeting cards but when I want to send one I rarely have time to browse, so I keep cards on hand.

Where to find my cards

You can find them in the Portraits of Animals Shop (pictured above) in Carnegie Antiques, 423 West Main Street in Carnegie, PA 15106.

You can order them from my website in the Marketplace Online Store under “Notecards” in the right-hand column.

Four sets of greeting cards for you to choose from

Feline Greetings Art Cards

Animal Sympathy Cards

In the Garden Greeting Cards

Inspired by Flowers

I offer four sets of greeting cards, two feline-themed and two flower-themed, made from my paintings and photographs. I sell them individually for $2.50 each, but the best deal is a set of a dozen for $20.00.

All cards are 5″ x 7″ , printed on 12 pt. card stock and include a matching envelope. Cards are blank inside but if you choose to use them for professional correspondence or for an invitation, for instance, they can be customized with your message for an extra $2.50 per dozen, minimum four dozen. I also offer a wholesale discount to those who’d like to carry them in a shop or purchase them for professional correspondence.

One dozen cards in a stationery box, $20.00, any combination

You can choose your cards:

• from pre-packaged sets of all one design
• from pre-packaged sets of all designs in one set
• your own set of any dozen in any of the four themes
• or your own set of a dozen chosen from among all four sets

One dozen cards is the same price no matter which cards you choose. Each dozen is packed in a clear-top stationery box, pre-packaged sets have a label on the back showing the designs inside.

“Feline Greetings” Art Cards

These greeting cards are created from paintings of the cats with whom I’ve had the pleasure of sharing my life—and that includes a few friends’ cats as well. It was through observing their feline grace and their individual natures that I found my muse as an artist and finally decided to get down on paper what I saw with my eyes and felt with my heart.

While I render many other subjects now it all began with my cats and the hopeless affection I felt for each of them and all their moods and quirks and manners of affection toward me. This is the gift they gave to me, and I will be forever in their debt, spending a lifetime to pay it off by sharing them with others.

I’ve included a mix of pastel and watercolor and a mix of styles, from realistic detail to loose impressionistic scenes so you have a choice for all occasions. Cards have only the image on the front, are blank inside, and carry the title of the painting and information about it on the back, you can write inside it whatever you want. Some people purchase them to frame as little prints as well.

Right now there area 14 cards in the series. Read about each of the designs and order in Feline Greeting Cards and Notecards in the Marketplace on my website.

Animal Sympathy Cards

I had had this idea from my first loss, but waited until I felt I could put my grief in images and design animal sympathy cards with more universal messages, not my own personal ideas. Many of my cats make an appearance here, Namir’s pawprints in “I’ll always walk beside you”, Lucy, who I lost at 15 months to FIP, helping me make the bed, and more. You can read more about the inspiration and creation of these cards in a post on The Creative Cat, “Pet Love and Loss and How it Gave Me My Art. While most have cats as the subject, one has a very special dog and two are non-specific.

They find a comfortable spot in your heart to live in forever and ever.

The sweetest memories often come in quiet moments.

Remember the best moments with love and joy.

While I am a fine artist, I have actually worked as a graphic designer for more years than I want to tell. Designing everything from letterhead to websites every day, the task of designing these cards was second nature to me. I was glad, for once, to use my commercial art skills to create something for my offering of animal art, especially since my poor neglected cats could just expire all over my desk before I took my eyes off the computer.

I’ve found, to my surprise, that these cards are sometimes purchased for the loss of a human, or even a “thinking of you” card for persons who like animals—I never considered this. You can find these 12 designs in Animal Sympathy Cards in the Marketplace on my website.

All-occasion Greeting Cards

“Inspired by Flowers” and “In the Garden”

These two lines of all-occasion cards are designed from my paintings and photographs of my garden and gardens I’ve encountered plus simply wildflowers I’ve met along the way. They are 5″ x 7″ , printed on 12 or 14 pt. card stock and include a matching envelope. Cards are blank inside but can be customized with your message for an extra $2.50 per dozen, minimum four dozen.

Inspired by Flowers

These 12 cards are designed from my own photos of my garden and yard and my walks along trails and natural areas.

Each photograph inspired a sentiment and thus became this line of simple greetings, so unlike most other cards I design which only feature the image, these actually have a message on the outside of the card including “In Sympathy”, “Get Well Soon”, “Believe” and more. In addition to the specific sentiments I’ve included broader ideas such as “Celebrating You” and “Follow the Rainbow” which can be used in a variety of situations.

In the Garden

These 8 cards feature my favorite paintings of gardens and still lifes, many of which scenes from my own yard and home.

I’ve included a mix of pastel and watercolor and a mix of styles, from realistic detail to loose impressionistic scenes so you have a choice for all occasions. Cards have only the image on the front, are blank inside, and carry the title of the painting and information about it on the back, you can write inside it whatever you want. Some people purchase them to frame as little prints as well.

Where to find my cards

You can find them in the Portraits of Animals Shop (pictured above) in Carnegie Antiques, 423 West Main Street in Carnegie, PA 15106.

You can order them from my website in the Marketplace Online Store under “Notecards” in the right-hand column.

Give a Gift Certificate for a Custom Commissioned Portrait

Sample Portrait Gift Certificate

A custom commissioned portrait is a really unique gift, but sometimes you can’t get the photos or you’d rather let the recipient design the portrait they want. I offer gift certificates for portraits in any denomination, but usually suggest $125.00 because it is the basic cost of a portrait, one subject in an area of about 10″ x 12″ depending on the subject matter. (The recipient is responsible for any amount the portrait costs over $125.00.)

Carol and Smudge

And even though I specialize in animals, I also paint people, and several times have painted portraits of people and their pets. I only have a few samples because some customers have requested privacy when the subjects were children and others haven’t given permission to be on the internet.

The certificate itself is 8.5″ x 11″ and features a collage of portrait images with the recipient’s and giver’s names, printed on parchment cover stock. The whole thing is packaged in a pocket folder and includes a brochure, a letter from me to the recipient and several business cards. The certificate package can be easily mailed or wrapped as a gift and shipped directly to your recipient.

Christie on her warm towel.

Prices are quoted per job, and include only the drawing (no mat or framing; this is extra, see below). Portraits start at $125.00 per subject for a color 8″ x 10″; prices increase according to size and complexity of work. Adding a background, extra objects (toys, etc.) and additional subjects are extra according to their complexity. I reserve the right to limit the content according to the finished size so that the subjects don’t become so small that details are impossible. And remember, I can only do so much with some photographs!

Framing is charged as a separate item, and we can discuss the framing when you contract for your portrait.

Sophie and Ellie, being good.

Animal artwork is not limited to pictures of your own pets, but may include pictures of any sort—wildlife images, for instance. In addition to portraits of your pets, I also offer portraits of your people, your house, or any other item of which you may want a portrait. I can always hold on to a portrait until a holiday, birthday or other event arrives, and I can keep a secret if the portrait is a gift.

Your purchase of a certificate supports many shelters and animal welfare organizations because I also donate at least a half dozen certificates to benefit auctions every year where all proceeds of the sale go directly to the organization; your purchase helps me cover the costs of creating original art for the winners of these certificates. I’m always pleased to see they auction for more than their face value—in this way, I can “give” more to the organizations than I ever could in cash.

You can read more about custom commissioned portraits on this site by clicking the tab at the top for Commissioned Pet Portraits and from there follow the links to my website, or visit Portrait Demonstration on my website to see how I put a portrait together.

To go directly to the Gift Certificate on my website, click here, or go to my Portraits of Animals shop on Etsy.

Pre-Thanksgiving Open House at Portraits of Animals and Carnegie Antiques

Mirror, Mirror © B.E. Kazmarski

I’ve been framing and packing and wrapping and tagging items for our holiday shopping sales at Portraits of Animals and Carnegie Antiques!

Join us Saturday, November 20 from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. for an Open House. Cookie will be with me for at least part of the day too!

Pistachio Pawprint

I’m offering 10% off your entire order of items from my Portraits of Animals shop including greeting cards, crocheted pawprints, tee-shirts, tote bags, unframed prints and anything else you can find in my shop.

I Like Your Spots

As a bonus, I’m offering 25% off  framed artwork! I’ve been I’ve been busily preparing several dozen small framed prints of my feline, wildlife and nature art as well as photographs, including views of Pittsburgh. I’ve brought in several larger originals as well, so if you’ve had your eye on something, now is the time to get it!

You can see a good bit of what’s in my shop in my Etsy shop.

In addition, Judi has been packing her shop with so much new merchandise I can hardly keep track of it all! There’s new furniture large and small, sets of dishes, hand-painted china, novelties, jewelry and more. Make sure you take time to visit Carnegie Antiques too!

I'm not an antique!

Join us:

• Saturday, November 20
• 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
• 423 West Main Street
• Carnegie, PA 15106

Cookie will be waiting!

Gray Pawprint Washcloths

Gray pawprints with pink toes!

Judi, the proprietor of my little bricks and mortar shop, rescued a long-haired gray and white kitty from the alley behind the shop. She asked when I was going to make a gray pawprint so she could have one to match Ally. Here is the set, solid gray and gray with pink toes!

Gray with pink toes.

This also coordinates with many breeds of dogs who are gray or who have brindled fur that appears gray, and even with gray bunnies.

Crocheted Gray Pawprint

Gray cotton yarn was a real challenge to find easily and affordably, and I’m glad I found about two pounds of this lovely steely gray.

You can find these pawprints in my Etsy shop as a set, and click on the images here to link to each individual pawprint.

I also have them in my shop at Carnegie Antiques.

Enjoy!

Black and White Pawprints

Black and White Crocheted Pawprint Washcloth Set

In honor of Mister Mistoffelees and all the other jellicle cats in the world, I’ve finally crocheted the sets of black and white pawprints!

White Pawprint with Black Toes

Most black and white cats have white paws, and while white paws on cats usually have pink toes this isn’t always true—some white paws have black toes if the kitty is mostly black! This was one of the things I noticed about Mister Mistoffelees, and I decided right then and there that I’d crochet white pawprints with black toes in his honor.

Black Pawprint with White Toes

But no kitties have white toes…but why not on a crocheted washcloth?! I’ve always simply loved black and white together, so this would be a natural combination and most of these pawprints are just for fun.

Black Pawprint

And, of course, my homage to all the black kitties I’ve loved, including the Big Four! A soft solid black pawprint, ready for shower, decoration, or gift. You’d have thought I’d do this one first!

You can find these pawprints in my Etsy shop as a set, and click on the images here to link to each individual pawprint.

I also have them in my shop at Carnegie Antiques.

Enjoy!

Clearance on Current Tote Bags!

"This is my sink. Go brush your teeth in the kitchen."

At “Art What You Got”, the Polish Hill Arts Festival I attended last weekend, I totally enjoyed watching people stroll by my table, stop to read the tote bags and break out in hearty laughs. Clever Mr. Sunshine, with caption-writing help from author Allia Zobel Nolan, got the most laughs of all the bags with comments like, “That’s my cat!” “That’s just what he does!”

"Sophie Keeps an Eye on Things"

I sold several bags, and now I’m ready to move on to the “real” bags.

What? These were just “pigments” of my imagination? (Sorry, artist joke, poor one at that.)

No, they were just to stop myself from wallowing in indecision at choosing a bag and just getting the designs out there. After all, you can get tote bags anywhere, often for free, so the bag itself isn’t the important part in all this, it’s the design. And the designs were a hit, but the bags were just a little too small. They were a good deal, a clearance item at JoAnn Fabrics I found hard to pass up for the sake of experimentation.

"Everybody in the Pool"

This was after the first experiment with the eco-cotton bags that were bigger, but were simply unbleached cotton muslin, the sort of thing I’d destroy in about a week. I didn’t want my art on those because I want my kitties to be out there for as long possible.

"After Dinner Nap"

This time, I had purchased all natural-colored bags and dyed half of them black. Then I dyed them again. And again. And finally, they were finally black enough. That was a lot of dye and a lot of time and I truly tired of rinsing out my washer with bleach.

"God, I'm Cute."

But it bought me enough time to introduce the designs, to see if tote bags generally were popular, to research available totes and to learn the differences among all the myriad iron-on possibilities.

So now, what’s left of the initial run of bags is on clearance, nine designs, reduced from $15.00 per bag to $10.00 per bag. Not all of them are pictured here—please visit my Etsy shop to see which ones!