“Tortie Girls” garden flags.

Eight two-sided garden flags are now available in my Etsy shop, each one a completely different style and theme to suit any garden—fine art, Impressionist, Warhol-esque and “after van Gogh”, black cats, pink cats, tabby cats and calico cats, and of course, those tortie girls!

These first eight flags actually feature twelve images. All are two-sided, most have two different designs so you can turn them around and show something different, or you can put them along a walk and see both sides as you move in each direction. I began with the most popular and requested images, and from those chose and ones that fit well on the shape of the flag while the image was still easily recognizable from a distance. Colors can be a little unpredictable with digital printing, and this digital fabric is a new product, but the colors and detail are astonishing.

You have a chance to win one as well—details below! I want to tell you more about the designs…

At left Mimi models her favorite design, I presume, since this was when she chose to saunter over and rub herself on the bracket even though she is featured in three other designs. Mimi is not included with your order, I need her here to model for more art, supervise their design, and especially act as art director for our back yard photo shoots.

These are digitally printed on a product called digital satin, a woven product intended for outdoor as well as indoor use. It’s heavier than the nylon most other flags are made of, but if I’m judging by the one I’ve had hanging out in my back yard since winter this is tough and durable material, no fading, scratches in the finish, fraying or wrinkling of the flag in any way. I’m sure, like any other product, if the flag is in direct sun for more than four hours per day it will eventually fade, but the testing worked better than I’d thought. You can read about the development of these flags as well as backyard testing and a photo shoot with Mimi and me in Backyard Product Development and Testing With My Assistant, Mimi.

My friend Bonita at Distinctively Different Decor and More actually sews the pockets for me and also sells them at her shop. Aside from sharing her life with five cats Bonita is a professional interior designer and upholsterer and she expressed an interest in selling these as well as assisting with the finishing. I have other art and merchandise at Bonita’s boutique, these will be on display and available through her at 103 Chestnut St. Carnegie, PA 15106.

I ship the garden flags rolled in a tube. Flags are 11” wide x 15” tall and fit the most common garden flag bracket available, seen here and sold in most hardware and home renovation stores with a garden area. You can order on through me, but with their weight and size it adds to the shipping cost.

Current designs

The eight designs below are currently available in my Etsy shop—click the image to go to the product on Etsy, and scroll down for links to the images here on The Creative Cat.

Following is a list of links to the daily sketch or painting:

Cats After van Gogh: Two Cats After van Gogh/In Window Light

Mimi Among the Geraniums 1/Mimi Among the Geraniums 2

Fine Art Cats: Peaches and Peonies/After Dinner Nap

Impressionist Cats: Stanley With Apple/White Cat Reflecting

The Roundest Eyes (white background)/The Roundest Eyes (yellow background)

The Goddess (white background)/The Goddess (yellow background)

Kitty in Pink/Kitty in Pink

In Afternoon Sun/In Afternoon Sun

Below, just my favorite photo of my first proofs in my yard! Of course, I’ve moved them around, but this is what I was envisioning last year when I first had the idea to create these.

The Giveaway on The Conscious Cat

Enter to win the garden flag of your choice between today and June 20 on The Conscious Cat—click here for details!

And other special deals

Sign up for my monthly e-newsletter below for discounts on these and other new products during the month of June.

Subscribe to My E-newsletter

Gifts Featuring Cats You Know

Browse some rescued cats and kittens!

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.

Click here to nominate “www.TheCreativeCat.net” for a Petties Award.

Read more about the Petties in this post.

© 2013 | www.TheCreativeCat.net | Published by Bernadette E. Kazmarski

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Introductory selection of art and photos mounted on wood blocks.

I love matting and framing my artwork, and even visualize a piece in mat and frame while I’m working, yet I’ve been finding ways to break free from the complications of mat, frame and glass for wall and display art for years—and I’m really happy with the way these wood blocks turned out!

The blocks, originally intended for painting, are 1/8″ birch wood panels “cradled” with wood bars added to the back for strength and stability and, incidentally, ease of hanging. The depth of these wood bars “cradling” the back is either 3/4″ or 1-1/2″ depending on the style of the block, and because they have wide sides the smaller ones can even stand up on a tabletop or shelf. I’ve painted the sides either black or natural white and mounted a print edge to edge on the top surface, then covered it with acrylic finish. I love the clean lines and modern look, and have been experimenting with other colors and sizes.

I began with several images from which I had plenty of feedback and which would also work in this medium. Because my daily sketches are often 5″ x 7″ or smaller, these blocks are ideal especially the smaller square format.

Above, most of the blocks are 4″ x 4″, in front you see “The Eye Model” and behind two small ink sketches, “Looking Out the Window” and “Three After Dinner Baths”. I’ve also included “Everyone’s On My Desk” and “Spooked on Halloween” in the small blocks.

And because “First Light” was so popular the other day I’ve included it on an 8″ x 10″ along with “A Sunny Room”, and “World Cat” on an 8″ x 8″ panel.

They range in price from $12.00 to $25.00 and come in a variety of sizes that will accommodate many photographs and sketches—including a 6″ x 8″ panel that will perfectly fit my cartoon “Being Used as a Fort”. See them all on Etsy. I regularly add new ones as I get more feedback, so when you visit my Etsy shop again, use the keyword search “wood mount” to see all that are available.

But what do they look like to Jelly Bean? A bunch of kitty-sized pedestals!

. . . . . . .

Take a look at other new merchandise and featured artwork.

Once a week on Thursday I feature something new in my “shop” on The Creative Cat from my Etsy shop, on my main website or even at one of the bricks and mortar shops that carry my work.

. . . . . . .

Read about creating custom items

Find out more about creating custom items for your own home using the images you see here. Visit the “Ordering Custom Art” page to see samples and read bout how to order.

It’s all done under the close and careful supervision of my studio cats!

Gifts Featuring Cats You Know

Read about creating custom items

Find out more about creating custom items for your own home using the images you see here. Visit the “Ordering Custom Art” page to see samples and read bout how to order.

Subscribe to My E-newsletter

Browse some rescued cats and kittens!

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.

“The Spring Kitten” linoleum block print on rice paper, black ink and hand-colored with watercolors

I once had a pure white long-haired kitty with pea green eyes and a pink nose named Sally. She was also completely deaf, and completely fearless; without distraction, she lived in her own little world, full of sleep and joy and play. She was the inspiration for many sketches, paintings and photos, and for this little piece as well; click the image to see a gallery of other black and white photos of Sally.

Almost everywhere I’ve lived there has been a quince bush, an old-fashioned favorite for its early bright pink flowers—so early, in fact, that the bush in my neighbor’s yard in the years when Sally was young bloomed every year during the January thaw, and then snow would fall on the bright pink blooms, nestling in the curve of the branches like Sally when she’d found a good cozy spot.

Below is the actual reference photo I used for this block print. Can you see the white kitten shape in the snow? Scroll down to the detail of the block print below.

Sure, I took some artistic license with the snow, but that’s what art is all about—and the shape you see below is what I actually saw when I got the photos back and flipped through them (remember those days?), and though it was years before I created this little print the idea stayed with me all that time.

I had actually also used the image for a few other projects as I explored my own talents and my abilities to turn what I’d visualized into an finished piece of artwork. It’s always interesting to find several interpretations in one image!

The style of this design was inspired after studying and practicing many illustration traditions, from Asian-inspired block prints and brush paintings to metal and wood etchings and block prints used for books and periodicals. My reference photo (which I kept) shows the branch with the flowers against a brilliant blue sky, and a soft little pile of snow in the angle which became the sleeping kitten.

Also inspired by the idea of a book illustration, it’s just a little thing, image is 5″ x 3.5″, and manuscripts were often illustrated with wood block prints. It’s difficult for me to carve wood, so I’ve gone for artist’s linoleum, much easier on my hands.

Block printing is a technique wherein the artist carves the surface of a piece of linoleum, leaving raised areas which will become the image. Ink is rolled onto these raised areas, then a piece of paper is pressed against the block and when it’s lifted away the ink remains, leaving the image on the paper.

I began only printing this on white rice paper in black or hand-tinted as you see here, and sold them framed and unframed. I love colored rice paper as well as handmade and unusual papers, though, and every year I create a few on new and different papers.

Of necessity, they can only have a small amount of texture and small or muted patterns so that they don’t compete with the print. I have a limited amount of space to hang prints to dry, so I’ve only used two of the papers, and am preparing for more!

My wood-mounted and keepsake art was quite popular and fun to make, so I also made up a few 4″ x 6″ wood-mounted prints and have a few 5″ x 7″ blocks as well as small keepsake boxes on hand for the next part of the experiment.

I also offer this image as a wood-mounted piece and on various textiles, such as t-shirts, curtains, tablecloths, shawls and tote bags. You can click any image in this post to find the item for sale in my Etsy shop, or to find everything that’s available featuring this little piece of artwork, search my Etsy shop for: “SPRING KITTEN”, which will bring up all the items currently available.

Because of the nature of the medium, each print is unique and ink coverage is not always perfect. Most artists consider this random activity to be part of the process of creating an individualized print, and along with the hand-painting makes a unique work of art.

Epilogue

I had actually also used the image for a few other projects as I explored my own talents and my abilities to turn what I’d visualized into an finished piece of artwork. It’s always interesting to find several interpretations in one image, and I created this one before I felt really confident in my drawing skills and was experimenting with ripped-paper collage, popular in the late 80s, using a piece of matboard, construction paper and tempera paints…it’s a bit worse for the wear of 25 years, with a few pieces missing.

And of course I can’t photograph any artwork without my composition and lighting director cruising through…and it’s an interesting thought to connect my feline households of long ago with today’s in this way.

Read about creating custom items

Find out more about creating custom items for your own home using the images you see here. Visit the “Ordering Custom Art” page to see samples and read bout how to order.

Subscribe to My E-newsletter

Browse some rescued cats and kittens!

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.

“Borzois”, pastel, 20″ x 26″ © Bernadette E. Kazmarski

Did your parents pass on to you a love of animals? Did they decide one day you needed an animal companion of your own, starting you on a lifelong path of sharing your days with cats and dogs and birds and bunnies and ferrets and any other animal that came along?

Thank those people who gave you this gift—and I’m loosely defining mother and father because sometimes the person who shared their love of animals with you was an aunt or uncle or grandparent, or even a neighbor who rescued cats or dogs. An animal-themed gift such as a print of a piece of artwork, a keepsake box or household item, even a personalized gift such as a portrait, is a wonderful way to thank them for the gift they gave you to love animals.

In everyone’s life is at least one special person who shared a love of animals, and in that person’s life there is often an animal companion who is or was very special to them. Read about Shadow, Casey and Ralph and a special Mother’s Day gift from 2006.

And thinking a little less conventionally, consider a piece of custom art that also includes an animal. For “Veronica’s Tulips”, right, this pet mom got the painting for herself, and wanted both flowers and, after a lifetime of rescued Schnauzers also wanted a Schnauzer in her painting, though not to represent any individual she had lived with. This was the very natural solution.

People and pets together

I’ve done a number of portraits of people with their pets, but many years ago I painted a very special portrait for grandparents who lived in Germany and never had the chance to see their grandchildren and grandcats. A photo was impossible to manage for the parents, so, with photos from the parents I put together a portrait of them all together in a style they requested, more sketchy than finished. I thought I’d taken a better photo of it at the time, but this sample is all I have; it was shipped off to the grandparents that year.

I’m offering 10% off the purchase of a portrait certificate or a commissioned portrait that is booked between now and Mother’s Day—and Father’s Day as well. Portraits take up to four weeks, especially with framing and then shipping, but we can work things out with certificates and portraits that are done some time in the next two months.

A Mother’s Day Special, and Father’s Day too

I’m offering 10% off the purchase of a portrait certificate or a commissioned portrait that is booked between now and Mother’s Day—and Father’s Day as well.

Portraits take up to four weeks, especially with framing and then shipping, but we can work things out with certificates and portraits that are done some time in the next two months.

About Commissioned Portrait Gift Certificates

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.

I can also make it downloadable if you’re in a hurry.

Portrait certificates are a minimum of $125.00 because that is the minimum cost of a portrait.

Certificates are good for up to one year after issue.

Mother’s Day Discounts in my Etsy Shop

Use MOTHERSPORTRAIT10 to receive 10% off the purchase of a portrait certificate or of the cost of a commissioned portrait (we will discuss the portrait and I will give you an estimate).

Use MOTHERSDAY10 to receive 10% off the purchase of Mother’s Day gifts, which may include a portrait certificate or of the cost of a commissioned portrait.

Father’s Day Discounts in my Etsy Shop

Use FATHERSPORTRAIT10 to receive 10% off the purchase of a portrait certificate or of the cost of a commissioned portrait (we will discuss the portrait and I will give you an estimate).

Use FATHERSDAY10 to receive 10% off the purchase of Mother’s Day gifts, which may include a portrait certificate or of the cost of a commissioned portrait.

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.

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.

Download a Brochure

My brochure is an 8.5″ x 11″ two-page full-color PDF that half-folds when it’s all printed out, showing examples of portraits with an explanation of my process and basic costs.

Purchase a Gift Certificate

I always offer portrait certificates, but can only extend that automatic 10% discount through Etsy, but you are more than welcome to purchase a gift certificate right here.

I offer gift certificates for portraits in any denomination beginning at $125.00, which is the basic cost of a portrait; the recipient is responsible for any amount the portrait costs over $125.00.

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.

I can also make it downloadable if you’re in a hurry.

Portrait certificates are a minimum of $125.00 because that is the minimum cost of a portrait.

Certificates are good for up to one year after issue.

You can purchase gift certificates on The Creative Cat, on my main website, or from my Etsy shop if you are also purchasing other animal-inspired merchandise.

Subscribe to My E-newsletter

Browse some rescued cats and kittens!

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.

MEDIUM: Pastel; IMAGE SIZE: 14″ x 20″; 2006

The backyard of an old farmhouse near me, I was drawn at first by the forsythia, which was right on the edge of the road as I drove past, then as I slowed down I saw the colorful hanging laundry, always a favorite subject. That hazy spring sunlight with long shadows on the grass, young leaves on the trees and the white-sided house all combined in a scene that could have been any year in the previous century when everyone hung their laundry outside and that first spring day warm enough to dry it left it smelling so fresh.

Here’s a detail of the laundry:

Detail of laundry area.

This is painted with chalk pastel from photos and from life. The image is 14″ x 20″ with a two-inch tan marble acid-free mat and a vintage antique gold frame with premium clear glass. The painting is wired on the back and ready to hang.

The original was sold and is happily living in Canada but I have prints of this painting.

Prints

Full-size giclee: $75.00
Half-size giclee: $45.00

Digital print, 16″ x 9.5″: $25.00

Full-size gallery-wrapped canvas print: $75.00

Find it here on Etsy.

Testing a garden flag design, “Holly on the Rocker”

Product testing in my back yard!

I have ideas for new products made from my artwork all the time—many I’ve had for years and finally had the time to work them out. Other ideas are new, based on feedback from readers and customers, or are extensions of other things I’ve worked out like the keepsake boxes and the wood-mounted artwork, or are designed around new materials or ones that have formerly been too expensive. I love to make the things myself so I focus on a certain number of projects, I also have a limited area for storage so I don’t want to have a quantity of a product here, and I enjoy working with my local printers and manufacturers, many of whom I work with for freelance assignments and it’s fun to be a little more creative and work on something for me.

I’m usually a pretty good judge of what’s going to work out but every once in a while I need to test a product for a while like the garden flags pictured here, or there’s an issue with materials and a product doesn’t work out the way I plan, like a heat-proof finish that simply was not, so there will be no hot pads right now. The past two months have definitely had their ups and downs—including a sunny day that suddenly turned heavy overcast when Mimi and I emerged outdoors for a photo session—but I have a couple of winners at the moment.

Garden Flags

The artwork printed on both sides of the polyester satin is looking pretty good after a cold and icy winter.

I’ve long pictured my art on house flags, both the large ones and smaller garden flags. These are usually printed on nylon or a polyester fabric and printed by a process called dye-sublimation, which infuses the surface of the product whether fabric or ceramic or other substances, with a dye-based ink that actually soaks into the product. It’s not terribly expensive but most of the time you need to purchase a quantity to make it worthwhile, and colors are not always reliable—I’ve had customer projects printed this way and it’s been tricky. The last thing I want is a bulk order that’s totally incorrect.

But one of the printers I work with locally showed me samples of several different printing media, one of which is the satin these flags are printed on which can be used indoors or out. I initially tried out a few proofs over the summer to be used as placemats, but they really didn’t work well for that. Then last October I remembered the garden flags and decided to try two different art images back and front on a piece and figured I’d try it outdoors.

Then I thought I’d better try it as it would be for a flag with the stitching for the rod pocket and possibly a hem. My machine can handle sewing into this product, but it’s hard to get to with all the other materials and merchandise I have in this house, and the stitching wasn’t getting done. I took it to my friend Bonita at Distinctively Different Decor and More where I also have art and merchandise. Aside from sharing her life with five cats Bonita is a professional interior designer and upholsterer and sewing is second nature to her. She also expressed an interest in selling these and can easily sew the rod pockets and finish them for me. A partnership!

When I had this flag done, I only had it printed to see how it would look and last outdoors, and didn’t allow for the rod pocket and serged edge, but as I design the actual garden flags I am using only the image area below the rod pocket, and incorporating a solid colored rod pocket and edge that coordinates with the design so the stitching will blend in.

For testing, I just used a wire hanger clipped open in the center of the bottom section so I could slip the flag onto it and easily hang it outside, and also see how the fabric reacts to metal. So far, this flag has been totally covered with ice, covered with snow, drenched in driving rain, hit with hail and sleet, and I’ve found it under snow in the garden and in a neighbor’s tree when I didn’t secure the hook on the hanger well enough. The colors have not faded, the finish has not cracked, and the fabric has not ripped or frayed—yay! I’m sure, like everything else, and per the manufacturer’s instructions, it would fade in direct sunlight so rather than wait through the summer I will need to warn customers to place them in partial sun instead of full sun.

The fabric is a little stiffer than nylon, but it still waves and curls in the breeze in a very nice way. I will have these available in April for $15.00 each and am planning five different colorful designs. Typically these flags are printed with the same design on both sides, but my test with two different designs didn’t show through to the other side. I can offer more designs if I print two-sided, but I’m still not sure. Any feedback would be much appreciated!

Mouse Pads

I am finally having mouse pads printed, though many people no longer even need them! It’s one of those products that was too expensive unless I only wanted to offer one design, and choosing only one of my paintings is like choosing a favorite child, I just can’t do it. But I found high-quality mouse pads with incredibly detailed and accurate printing—remember, these are images I created, I know every stroke and color. I don’t expect printing to be perfect and I’ll understand a lack of detail with some products or slightly inaccurate color if the overall image reflects my work. Best of all I can sell them for $6.00 each.

But even better mouse pads didn’t have printing that was reliably clear and correct, in part because they are set up for photos and most of my art files are scans, both digital, but different printing mechanisms read them differently. In four designs, two were perfect right away, two were absolutely color correct but were off-center and too large after three proofs. I won’t go into the details of it, but even certain of my art files didn’t work well until I realized it was the scanned art that was the issue. I made them a lower resolution and created a file that was the size of the mouse pad, and we are fine.

My photo assistant thought they were fun to walk on too, so if you don’t need them for your computer, perhaps your cats can use them as temporary nap stations. I found that as soon as I put one down to photograph inside, a cat magically appeared on it.

Browse some rescued cats and kittens!

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.

Inspired by felines you know! Visit Portraits of Animals on Etsy.

Gifts Featuring Cats You Know

“Ripley, Murphy, O.G., Veda and Missy Kitty”, pastel © B.E. Kazmarski

I’ve discussed plenty of portraits here but for the most part you’ve only seen finished works, and not seen how I actually put a portrait together, start to finish. I had prepared the presentation of this portrait, painted in 1998, for my original website and it’s a good example of a pretty complicated portrait with several subjects and a scenic background, plus it’s five rescued cats, what could be better?

The process is different for each portrait depending on what’s needed, and this portrait needed just about all the tricks I have in my little bag. I had the opportunity to visit their home and meet each one of them, and so spent about two hours talking to their mom about each one of them and following them around, photographing them in their habitat and with their habits even though their mom also had plenty of photos.

Being able to photograph them myself gives me the best visual information—after all, would you photograph just your cat’s tail anticipating that someday you might need that photograph? I can do that if I feel I need it.

Their mom adopted each of them individually either from shelters or from rescues, so each had a story that added to what I gathered about their personalities. We talked about where the portrait might be hung to help determine size and certain elements of the design, but she left the details up to me.

Depending on the complexity of the portrait and how many photographs I have to combine to get the scene, I may simply begin the drawing with no preliminaries or will create a pencil sketch to size. However, it’s a rarity that I don’t combine fewer than three pictures, and for this one I lost count of the number of pictures I combined. I used to have to sketch it out, even enlarging and cutting and pasting on a copier but now I use PhotoShop, scan the photos or use the digitals provided and combine them into a final finished composite.

For this portrait, I created two composites which I liked equally, and so did my client, but in the end the spot over the fireplace made the decision for the long narrow format. Each of the subjects is a composite of at least two photographs for face, paws, tail, eyes, ears, etc. I had an idea to use the bay window with windowseat for them all because the light was so beautiful and each of them visited this spot regularly, plus I enjoy painting architectural details.

So I made a composite image of each cat, then combined each of the individual composites, added the window in the background with enough of the windowseat included for placement, and sent it off to my client for approval—on paper.

A composite like this also means I have to equalize the lighting, make up shadows and highlights and the lay of the fur when I get down to the final drawing and when designing the posture and setting, which can be tricky but also one of the ways my cats have earned their living as I model them into the pose and lighting I need…sort of.

I always try to place the subjects against a background area which will complement their looks. But it’s not all about their looks—in combining multiples like this, I try to pair together animals which are friendly with each other and keep the “enemies” far apart.

When I began work, I enlarged the composite to the actual size of the finished drawing, printed it out, covered the back with a dark shade of pastel, and transferred it onto my drawing paper, which is an archival quality, 600-grit sanded paper.

After generally filling in the actual colors in the drawing and checking to make sure that everything was in proportion and in proper perspective, I was ready to work the actual drawing at my easel, with all the reference photos near.

I usually work the background first, then work one subject at a time, keeping the whole work at about the same level of detail. I may go over a portrait three or four times this way, each time working more color and detail into the work. In this case, because the window is a large portion of the work, I wanted to make certain all the structure and detail of it wouldn’t compete with the subjects, so I left it with less detail and color than the subjects and the surface they’re resting on.

The final pass adds the highlights in the fur, the whiskers and the sparkles in the eyes. When they look back at me from the drawing, I know it’s done. But it’s not really done until my client reviews it to make sure I’ve gotten everything right—after all, they are your companions, and I’d be just as fussy about mine. In this case, Veda was just not right—she’s a very tiny, slender cat, but shy, and the only clear picture I had gotten of her was of her hunched up a little scared under a table. Even though the image was accurate, it just wasn’t Veda, so my client sent me a few more photos of just her and I reworked that area. Since I had to slim her down and make her a little taller, and Veda is primarily black against a pale background, I had to actually lift quite a bit of pastel off of the paper and start over in some areas. If you compare the finished portrait at the beginning of this article with the sketch below, you’ll see the difference in Veda’s image.

Working With My Customers

In the end, any portrait means I work closely with my customer, often at an emotionally difficult time, and we’ve found this can actually help with grief. I can stop at any point if it’s too painful, or carry on if it’s working well. I’ve developed lasting friendships with many portrait customers, even long distance, hearing about new adoptions and losses, and several have returned for another portrait. It’s the part of this process I enjoy almost as much as creating a piece of artwork.

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.

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.

Download a Brochure

My brochure is an 8.5″ x 11″ two-page full-color PDF that half-folds when it’s all printed out, showing examples of portraits with an explanation of my process and basic costs.

Purchase a Gift Certificate

I offer gift certificates for portraits in any denomination beginning at $125.00, which is the basic cost of a portrait; the recipient is responsible for any amount the portrait costs over $125.00.

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.

I can also make it downloadable if you’re in a hurry.

Portrait certificates are a minimum of $125.00 because that is the minimum cost of a portrait.

Certificates are good for up to one year after issue.

You can purchase gift certificates on The Creative Cat, on my main website, or from my Etsy shop if you are also purchasing other animal-inspired merchandise.

Subscribe to My E-newsletter

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.

Browse some rescued cats and kittens!

Inspired by felines you know! Visit Portraits of Animals on Etsy.

Gifts Featuring Cats You Know

“What’s a tortie cat to do if all you give me is a pasta bag for my nap?” Cookie asks.

It’s a little small, a little noisy and maybe not all that comfortable, but Cookie managed to turn an errant bag of rotini pasta into a makeshift bed..

I set down the pasta bag and, as cats need to be even just the slightest bit elevated, even just the thickness of a piece of paper, Cookie stepped on top of it, then proceeded to noisily figure out how to make it comfortable and settle down for a nap on the bag. Here are the photos from the march pages of In the Kitchen With Cookie.

Each month has a different recipe based on what Cookie is doing in the photo, and this month it’s my somewhat famous pasta salad. As a long-time vegetarian, I’ve been invited to many a pot-luck, picnic or holiday party that was heavy on the burgers and weenies and spiral-sliced ham with nothing for someone who didn’t eat meat. While I love to whip up something impressive, between cats and family and events and work and budget it often became some variation on a quick and simple pasta salad.

But that didn’t mean it was always the same pasta salad. As Cookie and I enjoyed the summer seasons in the garden and the warmth of the winter kitchen, the ingredients changed from olives and artichokes and roasted red peppers in the winter to fresh basil, hot and sweet peppers and cherry tomatoes in mid-summer. It’s meant to make the work easy on you, using what’s available and what you like to create an inexpensive and tasty offering for a party, or just for yourself.

RECIPE: QUICK PASTA SALAD
Pot luck affairs often don’t have enough vegetarian choices to make a satisfying meal, but I find pasta salad satisfying at any time. I love working with fresh ingredients but don’t always have the time, and sometimes canned are better, especially if they are olives and such.

Cook one pound of rotini pasta according to directions. Have two cups of various black or green or cured olives, artichoke hearts, marinated mushrooms, roasted red peppers or any other pickled item, and two cups of chopped fresh or whole cherry tomatoes, onions, fresh green or red peppers and other vegetables. You can use the liquids from the pickled items or pour one cup of bottled Italian dressing over and toss, or use simply 1/2 cup of vinegar and 1/4 cup of olive oil, add salt and pepper to taste, and fresh basil and other herbs in season. Chill at least an hour.

Here’s the two-page spread for March:

Below is my original text from when I posted this photo in June 2011:

It’s a little small, a little noisy and maybe not all that comfortable, but Cookie managed to turn an errant bag of rotini pasta into a makeshift bed.

Yes, Cookie has owned the kitchen lately, happily interacting with everything I happen to set down on the table or cabinet. She’s always been curious, though, so it’s not surprising and it’s always amusing to see what she’s decided to do.

In the meantime, here’s a little slideshow of Cookie turning the pasta bag into a bed along with her commentary to me…this following the basket of tomatoes as a pillow from a few days ago.. At one point Kelly comes over to look at her but makes no comment, and Mr. Sunshine sniffs her to make sure she’s okay.

[portfolio_slideshow]

Read more about “Compositions in Black and Green”
and “In the Kitchen With Cookie”

Click the image below to go to my “calendars” page to read more about each one including what photos are featured on each page and, for In the Kitchen With Cookie, which recipe is featured. I’ve provided a book-flip slideshow so you can browse the pages too.

Both calendars are $5.00 each plus shipping. I’d love to know my cats were in your home! Well, virtually, at least!

Browse some rescued cats and kittens!

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.

“Lassie”, pastel on prepared board, 23″ x 16″, 2009 © B.E. Kazmarski

The two main reasons I decided to go ahead and start pet blogging was to give myself another place to share my writing, and an easier, more interactive way to share my artwork, especially commissioned portraits. I was working on Lassie’s portrait when I initiated The Creative Cat, so she was the very first portrait-in-progress I featured just about four years ago. From the time I was little I loved this breed, not really because of the TV show “Lassie”—that was in black and white and a tiny image and even then I wasn’t a TV watcher—no, even better, a neighbor had two lovely, friendly collies, and I could never get enough of petting all that silky hair and running my hand down those long narrow noses, and getting face licks.

Lassie was with her mom for 15 years and had just passed when her mom first called me. She was in nursing school and would graduate in the spring, and would like Lassie’s portrait for her graduation when family would be in town. A very special collie I could see by her photos, the two of them side by side from childhood, into the college years and off to a new city.

Her person knew all the details of Lassie’s personality that were most important to her, but most important was Lassie’s head tilt, and that certain knowing expression of communication were most important. This face is the expressive, intelligent face her mom always remembered, when Lassie knew just what she was thinking.

Lassie’s mom decided she wanted to remember Lassie in the outdoors so the portrait would have a scenic background, and its final shape would be determined by the scene. She didn’t have a photo of a favorite place, but they both enjoyed visiting parks and trails, not at all an uncommon request for a canine portrait. From looking over the photos I was provided I could see that I had plenty of photos of places like the ones they’d visited. I began designing with autumn backgrounds; colorful and familiar, they are very popular in canine portraits and I’ve added my autumn scenes to several other dog portraits (see Cassie and Tyler, for instance).

However, Lassie kept blending into the background colors because her fur is primarily amber to brown, the same as the leaves we see, so I chose a late summer background of a rocky little stream and a row of trees in the background. The deep green of late summer grass shows off her fur to perfection and the glow of evening sun warms the scene. There was originally a tree in the near background, but I needed to get a little more detail on Lassie before I could find the best placement for the it so it won’t be distracting, and in the end we decided to leave it out.

Painting portraits of animals is fulfilling and enjoyable, but my other favorite subject is my local landscapes, the trails and woods and fields I’ve wandered since I was a child. Not only have I worked for years to learn my palette and techniques for fur and wet noses and the specifics of feline and canine eye color, but also for the trees and grass and rocks and water and even the quality of sunlight of my familiar surroundings here in western Pennsylvania. Here was a painting that would be exciting in both respects, a landscape, and an animal.

But whether the background be autumn leaves or summer sun or snow or a grassy field, it still had to work as the backdrop to Lassie, and to the memories her human had of the times they’d spent together.

Here is a detail of the strip of woods from the top of the painting.

I thought I’d include a progress photo where the background is half done, moving from left to right, and Lassie will need her last details done, but that will be after the background is completed. Working in pastel, the colors dust over each other, especially with heavy coverage like this background and the contrasting colors.

In addition, here are two detail areas that I particularly like, the rocks on the left, and the rocks and grass on the right; while the evening sun shone across at a low angle, the clear blue sky reflected blue straight down onto the wet rocks and rippling water.

While the original portrait may look completely detailed in Lassie and in the landscape, a close-up look shows that many of the details are literally sketchy, just soft indications of light and shadow that when viewed together appear as they should.

By “prepared board” I mean one of the drawing surfaces I’d prepared myself on illustration board. I typically use a heavy paper that has a surface of fine grit applied much like sandpaper. In some cases I use heavy drawing paper or illustration board and apply one of the preparations I have on hand, various coarseness of grit sometimes mixed with gesso for texture or a pigment to give it color.

In this case it’s a more textured surface where I mixed the grit with gesso and blue drawing ink so it was tinted sky blue and brushed it on in horizontal strokes. You can see the strokes in some of the detail shots.

I often use a complementary color beneath a heavy coverage of another color, or to complement the overall tone of a painting. Pastel, like most media, is not entirely opaque, and the eye can perceive layers of color in a painting and mingle them in the same way it mingles the tiny dots in offset printing or in digital printing. If you look at blue and yellow separately they are simply individual colors, but if you put them side by side you can see that each color looks richer, brighter and darker or lighter than you originally perceived just by the visual influence of the other color. When my first portraits and paintings looked nice but kind of lifeless I suddenly understood what I’d learned about underpainting and gave it a try with the very next thing I painted in pastel, and that was indeed the final touch to giving life to one of my animal subjects. Layering the color complement underneath in this way gives the portrait more depth and dimension. Because this portrait is primarily in warm yellowish tones I used the complementary shade of blue to enliven all that yellow and yellow green, and the amber and orange tones in Lassie’s fur.

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.

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.

Download a Brochure

My brochure is an 8.5″ x 11″ two-page full-color PDF that half-folds when it’s all printed out, showing examples of portraits with an explanation of my process and basic costs.

Purchase a Gift Certificate

I offer gift certificates for portraits in any denomination beginning at $125.00, which is the basic cost of a portrait; the recipient is responsible for any amount the portrait costs over $125.00.

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.

I can also make it downloadable if you’re in a hurry.

Portrait certificates are a minimum of $125.00 because that is the minimum cost of a portrait.

Certificates are good for up to one year after issue.

You can purchase gift certificates on The Creative Cat, on my main website, or from my Etsy shop if you are also purchasing other animal-inspired merchandise.

Subscribe to My E-newsletter

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.

Browse some rescued cats and kittens!

Inspired by felines you know! Visit Portraits of Animals on Etsy.

Gifts Featuring Cats You Know

“Mother and Daughter, Sun and Shadow”, watercolor on paper, 6″ x 4″, 2012 © B.E. Kazmarski

The soft mixed pastels of this watercolor sketch welcome spring for me, and I hope they do for you as well for this month’s featured artwork and desktop calendar.

These two were curled up together on the rug on the landing, in very diffuse sunlight, not the bright morning light we often have, but it reflected off the white walls and created some interesting color combinations in their fur as well as reflected areas. Nice composition they made, and I wasn’t quite sure what I wanted to do with it at first, but I’m glad I chose watercolor for its opacity.

“Mother and Daughter, Sun and Shadow” is one of my daily sketches from last June when I was still experimenting with my watercolor pencils, mixing my love of simple sketches with the ability to blend colors, though not with my fingers as I am accustomed with my other familiar dry media of pastel, pencil, charcoal and the like. I sketched the basis of this, Mewsette and Mimi curled together on that pink flowered rug in a patch of sun on the upstairs landing, then ran a wet watercolor brush over it, just water, and let the colors blend as they would, magically turning my sketch into something I had not visualized.

How fun! Unplanned colors and textures blended to enhance the sketch, the shapes and open spaces, the reds, blues and yellows mingling just enough to add to the spectrum of colors and softening to a gentle pastel. Stopping after that first wash, I let it dry, then decided to reinforce the outlines of the two cats in a color I had not initially used, a dark green. And there I stopped. That’s often the most difficult part.

For me, this is the fun and the importance of creating my daily sketches. I don’t get the opportunity to experiment as often as I’d like, it’s best for me to use a subject I’m familiar with. When I was learning calligraphy and mastering the different pen tips and inks, I used my name, all 25 letters of it and including some atypical shapes and combinations, lettering it over and over so that I could focus on just the skill. Years ago, when I’d decided I was finally going to learn to draw I decided to use my cats as models for the same reason, and today it is the same; rendering things I see all the time in my familiar space I am able to focus on the medium and explore its capabilities without worrying if my subject is correct.

This month’s desktop calendar

And just as it’s entertaining and instructive for me to create daily sketches, in my life as a graphic designer it’s also fun for me to design something just for me, and to work out creative ideas with these desktop calendars each month.

I’ve worked this image into a desktop calendar for you to enjoy during the month of March. Reading statistics and knowing that more than half of my readers view this site on a mobile device, I also offer the dimensions for desktop images for mobile devices from iPads to Smartphones.

Visit The Creative Cat to download the desktop calendar for your electronic device.

Browse some rescued cats and kittens!

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.

Inspired by felines you know! Visit Portraits of Animals on Etsy.

Gifts Featuring Cats You Know