Follow Me! Portraits of Animals Has Moved

Portraits of Animals new website!

It’s been a while since I’ve posted here and that’s because I’ve been preparing and building a brand new website for my artwork and merchandise. Maintaining this blog plus my Etsy profile, Fine Art America account and a few other profiles where I displayed and sold my things and decided to invest the time to put one whole new site together.

Actually, this has been in the works for a few years, and I finally found the time to get the site built. I have set up my new website for Portraits of Animals! That’s what you see above, a screen shot for the home page. Finally, this plan I’ve visualized for the past five years has been put into action. I found a template I liked, I’ve planned out my new products and I set up my Sampler Box Program and a free gift for those who register for an account on the site. It’s ready to go! Mostly.

If you are already a subscriber, your subscription may have already moved to the new site—I moved subscribers today. But if not, you can go to Portraits of Animals and subscribe to “News and Articles” there. Of course, you can always change your subscription preferences if you no longer want to be subscribed. But read on—I have features on the new site that I couldn’t have here, including setting up an account with a free gift when you do, member rewards programs and a sampler box program!

A Soft Unveiling

Another Sampler Box view.

I’m calling this a “soft unveiling” because, while the site is structurally ready to roll, I’m missing…a few products. Well, quite a few. And it’s my own fault. I had started working on a new site in December set up on a template from my shopping cart provider, and while the back end of it is impressive, and the front end was attractive, clean and easy to navigate, the product area just looked like…and internet store. As well it should if it was selling merchandise.

But it wasn’t selling merchandise. It was selling my art. And it wasn’t looking like a gallery. And I couldn’t blog on that platform, essential for driving traffic to the site, and I couldn’t use some of the plugins to set up galleries of art and merchandise the way I’d envisioned.

The new menu.

January had originally been my deadline to have this website ready, but the holiday season doesn’t permit focus on too many things other than the holiday season, so I didn’t get too far. And then I ran off to Savannah to deliver a couple of kittens and visit family. But before I did I decided to stop building that site and decide which way to go: continue with the site or look for a template that better represented my work.

I found the perfect template, designed by an artist for artists. Next, I needed to find three or four days to set it up and get all the parts in there and start adding merchandise. Designing websites has always been a process of not only putting your visualization on a computer screen but also fixing all the little issues, bugs and conflicts that come up, and at this point in my life I like to stake out some time to just focus on it.

I have not posted since last week, on Tuesday. Because I wanted a long weekend to work on this I had to get all my regular work done early last week, so I settled in and focused on that so that Friday I could put it all aside and get my hands into this site and work through the weekend. I’d intended to post at least once each day, but I was so focused on finishing the other projects and lining things up for the new site, and I knew I’d be distracted and didn’t want to be. By Monday morning a good bit of it was set up and some products in place. All ready to present it on Tuesday, my hosting company had an issue on my shared server that kept filling up the memory and shutting us all down. It turns out it had something to do with the voting on Super Tuesday, and though they found the site that caused the problem and could shut it down, I wasn’t back up until Wednesday.

Now it’s Thursday and I miss posting about my cats and stuff and I can’t wait to share this site, even though it doesn’t have much on it! You can imagine it will take me quite some time to get my things up there. I shake my head and think, why did I do all this stuff? But really, I can’t wait to fill out the pages I’ve set up!

A display of gift items.

I love the way I can set up the galleries so that you can see a whole screen full of images and read the headlines, click on the item and read the details and order. Above is a sample of art papers on display and below is a sample section of animal sympathy cards.

The display of sympathy cards.

And here is a detail page, what you see when you click on a product.

Detail page.

A signing bonus!

I like to thank each person who signs up for an account on Portraits of Animals. Each new member receives a thank-you gift not only as an honest thanks from me for signing up, but also so that you can see a sample of my art and the quality of my merchandise, even if you’ve been a customer already and purchased from me in other places.

You don’t need to purchase anything to get your thank you gift, you can just register an account and get your free print.

The thank you gifts always include matted digital prints of art and photos that I usually sell for between $20.00 and $40.00. The selection includes the current month’s featured artwork and several of the more popular images I sell. Sizes vary according to the size of the art itself—some of my more popular sketches are as small as 3″ x 5″—but they are always matted to fit a standard frame size so you can use a frame you have on hand or easily purchase one without the cost of custom framing. Below is the current selection of prints you can choose from. Visit Current New Member Gifts to read more about the size and matting for each print.

The current selection of new member gifts.

About that Sampler Box

What’s in the sampler box

Each box will receive the following items in a design appropriate to the audience:

• an 8” x 10” print matted to 11” x 14”, ready to frame OR a small framed print, either an existing piece of artwork or a new one

• two or more greeting or note cards, current designs and new designs

• a handmade or other gift item—a small keepsake box or a little art sampler book, a polymer clay or ceramic item, screen-printed dishtowel, tote bag, crocheted item or rubber stamp, new art paper, for instance

These can be things your use for yourself or give as gifts or donation items to shelter or rescue or other fundraisers. Sometimes they’ll be little experiments and I’ll be asking for feedback. I’ll be happy that you get to see art you may have never noticed, and little handmade goods that work so much better in your hands than a photo on your computer.

Sampler boxes can be purchased singly or in subscriptions of three and six boxes. Shipping within the US is included.

$30.00 for one box, value about $47.50

$75.00 for a three box subscription, value about $142.50

You can read more about the content in the gift boxes on the page on Portraits of Animals, and don’t forget to go and visit the rest of the site too! I’ll be adding things every day, and also my links from Marketplace articles on this site will now go to Portraits of Animals. I’ll keep a few things on my  Etsy site, but nearly all of it in time will be moved to Portraits of Animals.

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My Feline- and Nature-themed Stuff at “The Outlet Barn”

Display from the other side.

So who would think a drafty old unheated honest-to-God barn from a long-time farm would be a hot spot for unique art and decorative items?

The Outlet Barn Garden and Art Center has been in business in this very same old barn for the past 20 years, with a list of loyal customers and new people stopping every day. They close on Christmas Eve and reopen on April 1, weather permitting. I’ve had a display of greeting cards and art there since 2011 when the Agway closed, but at that time I was the only artist. This year they’ve set up an area for many artists to display in this open and rustic setting, so I have a nice space with an antique entryway piece and and wall space to hang things.

Display from one side.

Because the barn is just that—an old wooden and unheated barn—I have chosen things that can be easily dusted or cleaned, or are in packaging. That makes it perfect for my handmade keepsake boxes and wall art, trivets and garden flags as well as a selection of framed and packaged prints of feline, flowers and nature photos. I’m excited to be expanding my selection of floral and landscape gift items in addition to my feline gift items. I will have a small selection of note cards and greeting cards, but because the place is open I often have difficulty with the envelopes sealing shut, even in packaging.

Gift items.

I began visiting there because the place looked like the sort of place I’d like to check out, not carefully coiffed or neatly arranged, but artfully arranged and colorful outside, and inside just crowded enough in the semi-darkness of the old barn that I could take my time to peruse without feeling overwhelmed.

Garden flags.

I ended up moving things into there because the former manager of the Agway I had been selling at was friends with Kathy, The Outlet Barn’s owner, and simply went to her and said I’d be over with my things, she’d like them and me. Life should be filled with such friends. Kathy herself is the one who artfully arranges things in a way that makes people passing on the road find it hard to resist, and is also a master with ribbon and grapevines and such and creates all the wreaths and swags sold throughout the year, often custom-making them for long-time customers. She also makes beaded jewelry for sale in the shop.

Packaged, matted and framed prints.

She also holds events with local musicians playing jazz and folk and alternative in among the gargoyles and gazing globes, or out back in one of the sample gazebos or on the deck.

Canvas prints.

And I can’t forget the enthusiastic rescued chocolate lab named Irish Malarkey, named so because his eyes were green when he was a puppy, who rides in with his human every day. He carefully checked each of my boxes for treats, in between trotting around the place with that huge destructive lab tail without overturning as much as a small terra cotta flowerpot.

Irish Malarkey.

Supporting a local small business is important from both standpoints, from buying and selling, so in addition to placing my things there on consignment, I also promote the places where my things are consigned. I’ll share notices of events, which will be of greatest interest to local friends, and also of things I find there that you might enjoy—feline-themed of course But there plenty of animal-themed things about the place, plus really cool gargoyles.

Feline-themed planting pots.

I have a love-hate relationship with retail. I love to create my artwork and even to create the derivative items from it like cards and notepads and prints, and the best way to get my artwork known is to create and sell these things, but it takes time to drive around and visit shops, introduce myself, deliver the goods and maintain a display; if I seem to have disappeared now and then, this is why—calling and driving around, following up suggestions from friends to visit and introducing myself and showing a few representative pieces of what I have for sale. The actual sales from this might break even for expenses and time, but the real benefit is in finding new customers and making new friends, and just sharing my inspirations. Finding a shop where I also have other reasons to visit just makes it better.

And there’s another constant—animals and animal rescue. One door closes and another one opens as our friends share us with their friends. It is not a loss and a gain, but simply a change.

Where to find The Outlet Barn

The Outlet Barn

The Outlet Barn Garden Center

4577 Campbells Run Rd Pittsburgh, PA 15205

outletbarn@gmail.com – Phone: 412-494-5190

If you see merchandise pictured here, whether it’s mine or not, that you are interested in, please follow the link to The Outlet Barn website or let me know. The website is not an online store for things in the shop because there’s just too much, but Kathy will be glad to give you a few details and ship something to you if purchase it with the possible exception of a concrete gargoyle.

Handmade furniture and ceramic gift items.

Below is a gallery of things in the barn, and another slideshow of other artisans’ items.

The Outlet Barn

Vintage tools.

Ceramics and wood

All sizes of terra cotta pots

Lots of ceramic planters

Feline-themed planting pots.

Wire baskets with liners

Animal ceramics.

Handmade furniture and ceramic gift items.

Welcome

Here are a few of the artisans’ displays.

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Basil inspects all the new goods.

Marketplace

Mimi scolds me for not letting the blocks dry properly.

Take a look at other new merchandise and featured artwork.

Once a week on Thursday I feature something new in my “shop”, whether that’s here on The Creative Cat, in 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.

Find out about events and festivals where you can find me and my work.

Sign up for my e-newsletter (below), check the widget on the sidebar on my home page, or sign up to receive posts on Portraits of Animals Marketplace. I plan on plenty of events this coming summer in the Pittsburgh area.

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

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Subscribe to My E-newsletter

Subscribe to The Creative Cat e-newsletter for specials on exclusively feline-themed art and merchandise.

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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 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.

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

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© 2015 | www.TheCreativeCat.net | Published by Bernadette E. Kazmarski

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“Winter Afternoon” Prints and Gift Items

“Winter Afternoon”, pastel pencil on black pastel paper, 9.5″ x 6.5″ © Bernadette E. Kazmarski

Look closely and you’ll see four cats in this sketch. Smokie, Bella, Bean and Mewsette spent the entire long, quiet afternoon on the wool afghan. The light caught each of their coats in different tones and textures: Smokie at the top left is very mocha, and in the top right Bella is only shades of blue, while Bean and Mewsette, tucked up against each other and facing opposite directions, are combinations of both colors.

I walked past several times and looked in on them, photographed them, and decided to finally sketch what I visualized. I did have to finish some of the placement of the afghan square colors from a photo because I only had so many fingers to hold pastel pencils. But I’m so happy to catch a scene I see every day. I’ve never left the afghan on the bed all day, but this winter, this family of cats collects there nearly every afternoon, and I will always remember that.

Hint: to find the cats, look for curved lines and ears.

Where to find this artwork

UPDATE: By request I’ve added this original sketch and prints to my Etsy shop!

You can find this artwork printed on paper and canvas in various sizes, giclee as well as digital prints, in my Etsy shop. To find other products and handmade goods bearing this art, search my Etsy shop for the title.

SHIPPING

Shipping within the US is included in all the prices listed. All shipping is via Priority Mail. Prints are shipped flat in a rigid envelope. Canvases are shipped in a box to fit with padding. Since this original is small it is also shipped in a box with extra padding.

ORIGINAL SKETCH

This sketch is 9.5″ wide x 6.5″ high pastel pencils on black pastel paper, I don’t have it framed yet but wanted to get the sketch up fast because it was popular; I prefer to wait until I’ve gotten a giclee and canvas print to be certain the prints are good before I close a print up in a frame. Here is what I have prepared for the framing: mats 1.5″ wide, deep blue black core top and and Chinese red black core 1/4″ bottom mat. The frame is 1.5″ matte-finish black painted wood with premium clear glass, the backing is acid-free foam core. Finished frame size is 12,5″ x 9.5″. All framing is done by me in my studio.

GICLEE PRINTS

The giclees are printed on acid-free hot press art paper for a smooth matte finish using archival inks. Giclee is the highest quality print available because the technique uses a dozen or more ink ports to capture all the nuances of the original painting, including details of the texture, far more sensitive than any other printing medium. Sometimes my giclees look so much like my originals that even I have a difficult time telling them apart when they are in frames.

I don’t keep giclee prints in stock for most of my works. Usually I have giclees printed as they are ordered unless I have an exhibit where I’ll be selling a particular print so there is a wait of up to two weeks before receipt of your print to allow for time to print and ship.

DIGITAL PRINTS

Digital prints are made on acid-free matte-finish natural white 100# cover using archival digital inks. While digital prints are not the quality of a giclee in capturing every nuance and detail of color, texture and shading, I am still very pleased with the outcome and usually only I as the artist, could tell where detail and color were not as sharp as the original.

The giclees have 2″ of white around the outside edges. The 5″ x 7″ and 8″ x 10″ digital prints are centered on 8.5″ x 11″ digital cover while the 11″ x 14″ has 1″ around the edges because the digital paper is 12″ wide. All are countersigned by me.

CANVAS PRINTS

I usually have at least one of the smaller sizes of canvases on hand, but order larger ones as they are ordered here because customers often want a custom size. Smaller canvases are a 3/4″ in depth, canvases 12 x 16 and larger are 1-1/2″ in depth. I set them up so the image runs from edge to edge, then the sides are black or white or sometimes I slip in a color that coordinates with the painting. This canvas is black on the sides.

MOUSEPADS

Mousepads are 8″ x 7″, always horizontal so in this case it crops quite a bit from the top and bottom, 1/4″ black foam rubber with the image printed on a flexible fabric on top.

DAILY SKETCHES

I endeavor to do at least a small sketch each day as a warm-up to my aesthetic senses, so I have a small pouch of art materials and a few various sized sketchbooks available in the house and out. Usually, these are done in pencil, my first and favorite medium, though sometimes it’s charcoal, ink, colored pencil, ink and brush, whatever strikes my fancy at the moment, the greatest challenge to keep it quick and not get caught up in details, let the idea flow onto the paper.

Most often, the subjects are my cats because they are such willing models, though sometimes I’ll also wander afield, literally, and sketch in my yard or anywhere I go for errands. Medium and especially style vary just so I get a chance to do something new.

Every once in a while, they are meant for framing, and I’ve designed a series of notecards, notepaper and notepads using other daily sketches (see my notecards section). Often I use them as illustrations for graphics projects I’m designing.

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We’re sharing this on “Inspire Me Monday” on “Create With Joy”.

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Click here to see daily sketches, click here to see daily photographs

click here to see other artwork featured on The Creative Cat

or visit Fine Art and Portraiture on my main website.

If you are interested in a print of this image, check my Etsy shop 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.

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Subscribe to My E-newsletter

Subscribe to The Creative Cat e-newsletter for specials on exclusively feline-themed art and merchandise.

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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 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.

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

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

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“Mewsette on the Afghan” Prints and Gift Items

“Mewsette on the Afghan”, cropped.

Something colorful, warm and homey for the holidays, not just for me and the comforting familiarity of this scene, both Mewsette and the afghan, but also based on the feedback from people who remarked about it when I posted it on February 7, 2014.

I’ve been waiting for this month’s calendar to come around and I’m excited December is finally here. This sketch was very popular when I first posted it and as I loosely planned out the second half of this year’s desktop calendars I knew I’d want to use this one in the fall, initially for November and Thanksgiving, but decided December would be better for all the holidays that happen during this month.

Below is what I said about the sketch when I first posted it.

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Mewsette nearly blends in with the afghan.

I’ll admit, this took a little longer than the usual 15 minutes maximum. I’ve been holding off the sketches with this afghan just because I knew they’d be time-consuming for part of the charm is the detail of all the colors. Today I could not pass up pretty Mewsette quietly napping on the afghan, especially when she opened her big yellow eyes. I drew the basic sketch in black, then later filled in the colors with every marker I have in the house. This afghan is more muted than this sketch shows, but I like the bright colors too.

I love that old afghan. My mother crocheted it years ago from a 1944 pattern book out of scraps of wool yarn. Each granny square is made of four rows, each a different color, with one last row of black; when the squares are sewn together there are two rows of black between each color set which gives it this stained-glass effect.

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Above I’ve posted the cropped version, but below is what the actual original sketch looked like. I think I like it this way too.

“Mewsette on the Afghan”, markers , 6″ x 7″ © Bernadette E. Kazmarski

I have to admit, I will really miss Stanley on my desktop. He was my desktop wallpaper for years, but looking at this calendar makes me happy. I hope it makes you happy too!

Mewsette on the Afghan 5×7 print.

Where to find this artwork

You can find this artwork printed on paper and canvas in various sizes, giclee as well as digital prints, in my Etsy shop. To find other products and handmade goods bearing this art, search my Etsy shop for the title.

 

 

 

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Click here to see daily sketches, click here to see daily photographs

click here to see other artwork featured on The Creative Cat

or visit Fine Art and Portraiture on my main website.

If you are interested in a print of this image, check my Etsy shop 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.

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Subscribe to My E-newsletter

Subscribe to The Creative Cat e-newsletter for specials on exclusively feline-themed art and merchandise.

---

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 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.

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

---

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

FACEBOOK | TWITTER | LINKEDIN | ETSY SHOP | PINTEREST | TUMBLR | STUMBLEUPON | GOOGLE+ | EMAIL

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“Green Apples” and “Squashes” Set of Prints

“Green Apples” and “Squashes”, prints

I was new to oil pastel–before the “Green Apples” they felt like crayons and I never thought I’d get used to them, being so accustomed to chalk pastels. But it was the very differences that kept drawing me back–the brilliance of the colors, the quickness of a sketch, the ability to create “impasto”, or an actual thickness of the medium on the paper seen most often in oil paintings. My Granny Smiths were politely piled in their bowl, unaware that they were providing a great inspiration for me to do my first still life, and to do it in oil pastel as an experiment. I chose one of my favorite colorful 1940s cotton tablecloths featuring lemons and raspberries to drape over the little round table.

8×8 canvas prints

The original was purchased, and the woman who purchased it decided that she would like two paintings for the spot, identical in size, matting and framing and perhaps style. We discussed several subjects, but as the summer waned and she mentioned golds and earth tones, I knew it had to be squashes. One of my favorite vegetables to grow and to eat, they were just about ready to harvest, and their colors were perfect to create a piece to complement the Green Apples. She had incorporated a Jacquard pattern into some of the fabrics in her dining room, so I incorporated it into the background of the painting.

The originals were actually 12″ x 12″, but 8″ x 8″ is a nice size.

ABOUT THE PRINTS

These are signed digital prints or canvas prints of original oil pastel paintings at their original dimension, little square paintings.

I also sell these as individual prints, but this listing is for the set.

8×8 canvases are regularly $40 shipping included and I’m offering these $65.00 for the set shipping included.

8×8 digital prints are usually $22.50 each shipping included, but I’m offering these for $35.00 for both prints including shipping.

SHIPPING

Shipping within the US is included in all the prices listed. All shipping is via Priority Mail. Prints are shipped flat in a rigid envelope. Canvases are shipped in a box to fit with padding.

The side of the canvas.

DIGITAL PRINTS

Digital prints are made on acid-free matte-finish natural white 100# cover using archival digital inks. While digital prints are not the quality of a giclee in capturing every nuance and detail of color, texture and shading, I am still very pleased with the outcome and usually only I as the artist, could tell where detail and color were not as sharp as the original.

The 5″ x 7″ and 8″ x 10″ digital prints are centered on 8.5″ x 11″ digital cover while the 11″ x 14″ has 1″ around the edges because the digital paper is 12″ wide. All are countersigned by me.

CANVAS PRINTS

I usually have at least one of the smaller sizes of canvases on hand, but order larger ones as they are ordered here because customers often want a custom size. Smaller canvases are a 3/4″ in depth, Canvases 12 x 16 and larger are 1-1/2″ in depth. If possible, as in the case of these two paintings, I set them up so that the excess outside of the margins of the painting, which I cropped off to frame, are used to wrap around the back of the canvas so that the sides have the image as well.

WHERE TO FIND THESE PRINTS

I have sets of these prints available in my Etsy shop.

See other autumn art and landscapes

Click here to see an archive of autumn art and also landscape paintings.

And there are many more images to browse! Visit my Etsy shop to see what’s available in my Landscapes and Still Lifes Gallery.

I also have an e-newsletter for non-animal art like my landscapes and photography, which I usually deliver seasonally, click here to add your e-mail address.

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All images in this post are copyright © Bernadette E. Kazmarski and may not be used without prior written permission.

 

Interior With Cat, Framed Original Watercolor or Prints

“Interior With Cat” framed.

“Interior With Cat”, watercolor, 8″ x 12″, 2000.

ABOUT THE ARTWORK

Those calendulas, which had braved a pretty hard frost, opened fully when the sun shone in the windows the next day, and that was the first inspiration for this piece. I photographed the calendula, intending to paint only them, but when I looked over the photographs in preparation for painting, I noticed the cloth, the paperwhites in the pot, the light glare on the table, and of course, the cat. It developed into a much larger work than I had wanted, but it was a real challenge to create something from a different perspective than I usually have. And since I create so many other works involving my cats, I really tried hard to keep the cat out of it, but it just wasn’t complete until I painted her in.

Read what I offer below, or find this art in my Etsy shop.

SHIPPING

Shipping within the US is included in all the prices listed. All shipping is via Priority Mail. Prints are shipped flat in a rigid envelope. Canvases are shipped in a box to fit with padding. Since this original is small it is also shipped in a box with extra padding.

ORIGINAL PAINTING

This painting is 8″ wide x 12″ high on acid-free 90 lb. watercolor paper. It is matted with 2-5/8″ acid-free white mats with black core on top, then 1/8″ red mat with white core, then 1/4″ white with black core on the bottom. The frame is a 1″ decorative solid wood frame painted white. The backing is acid-free foam core and the glass is premium clear glass. All framing is done by me in my studio.

WHEN ORDERING PRINTS
Because this painting is 8″ x 12″, ordering an 8″ x 10″ will crop a portion from the top of the image so I’ve offered full-size prints in various types for the same price.

GICLEE PRINTS

The giclees are printed on acid-free hot press art paper for a smooth matte finish using archival inks. Giclee is the highest quality print available because the technique uses a dozen or more ink ports to capture all the nuances of the original painting, including details of the texture, far more sensitive than any other printing medium. Sometimes my giclees look so much like my originals that even I have a difficult time telling them apart when they are in frames.

I don’t keep giclee prints in stock for most of my works. Usually I have giclees printed as they are ordered unless I have an exhibit where I’ll be selling a particular print so there is a wait of up to two weeks before receipt of your print to allow for time to print and ship.

DIGITAL PRINTS

Digital prints are made on acid-free matte-finish natural white 100# cover using archival digital inks. While digital prints are not the quality of a giclee in capturing every nuance and detail of color, texture and shading, I am still very pleased with the outcome and usually only I as the artist, could tell where detail and color were not as sharp as the original.

The giclees have 2″ of white around the outside edges. The 5″ x 7″ and 8″ x 10″ digital prints are centered on 8.5″ x 11″ digital cover while the 11″ x 14″ has 1″ around the edges because the digital paper is 12″ wide. All are countersigned by me.

CANVAS PRINTS

I usually have at least one of the smaller sizes of canvases on hand, but order larger ones as they are ordered here because customers often want a custom size. Smaller canvases are a 3/4″ in depth, canvases 12 x 16 and larger are 1-1/2″ in depth. I set them up so the image runs from edge to edge, then the sides are black or white or sometimes I slip in a color that coordinates with the painting. This canvas is blue on the sides.

You can find this art in my Etsy shop.

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Subscribe to My E-newsletter

Subscribe to The Creative Cat e-newsletter for specials on exclusively feline-themed art and merchandise.

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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 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.

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

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

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The Splendor of Autumn, Original Art and Prints

	The Studio of Bernadette E. Kazmarski The Splendor of Autumn Original Art and Prints
Autumn has arrived in the angle and color of sunlight, leaves beginning to change from green to their autumn brilliance, geese flying south and my bird feeders mobbed by birds on some days, and cooler days and nights. I’m offering a special discount until the last day of autumn, December 20, 2014, on all autumn-themed artwork in my Etsy shop: 25% off anything in my Landscapes and Still Lifes Gallery. Just use the code “AUTUMN25” for your special discount.Just as I have galleries of summer and winter artwork, so do I have a gallery of autumn artwork. Just a few are featured here but you can view and read about others in my Etsy gallery. As much of autumn artwork has to do with trees doing their autumn thing, and Western Pennsylvania is largely tree covered, I’ve had a lot of material to work with through the years. Some were painted en plein air, some were studio pieces.Click on any of the images in this newsletter, top, sidebar, text area or bottom, to find out more about it. This year I’m adding a new image to my autumn gallery, “Colorful Autumn Trail”, which I featured in my exhibit on the Panhandle Trail, “Sun Shadow Ice & Snow”. I am happy to say I sold the original during the event, but I have archival-quality digital prints of this piece, and can easily have gicleé prints and canvas prints made. As a new way to present prints of my artwork. you’ll find many are gallery-wrapped canvas prints, including “Main Street at Twilight”, at the top. That’s not the only photograph in this collection, as I’m also offering the ever-popular “Market Flowers” and “Fresh Peppers”. I’m also offering several popular paintings as canvas prints: “Birches 1: Autumn Showers” and  “Birches 2: Radiance”, and “Autumn in the Valley” and “Dusk in the Woods”. Each of these is 16″ x 20″ and would make wonderful sets of two or even four. They can hang unframed, just as they are, or they can easily slip into a standard frame size with no need for glass or mat. Please ask about framing options. I’m offering a special discount until the last day of autumn, December 20, 2014, on all autumn-themed artwork in my Etsy shop: 25% off anything in my Landscapes and Still Lifes Gallery. In fact, it’s actually good for any landscape at all in my Etsy shop! Just use the code “AUTUMN25” for your special discount. . . . . . . . I also have a selection of sets of holiday cards featuring scenes from nature in photos and art: “Backyard Bird Paintings” • “Cardinals on a Snowy Day” • “Unexpected Berries” • “Winter Walks” • “Winter Beauty Paintings” Browse my full selection of Holiday Cards. . . . . . . . Thank you for browsing my artwork in this e-newsletter. If you’d like to share this with a friend, please use the “Forward to a Fried” link below and this will ensure the e-mail and its contents compose correctly when forwarded, and if you’ve received this from a friend and want to receive my studio e-newsletters on a regular basis, use the “subscription preferences” below to sign up. As always, if you are no longer interested in receiving these e-mails, use the subscription preferences below to remove your e-mail from the list. Visit my shop on Etsy  »

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The Splendor of Autumn, Original Art and Prints

	The Studio of Bernadette E. Kazmarski The Splendor of Autumn Original Art and Prints
Autumn has arrived in the angle and color of sunlight, leaves beginning to change from green to their autumn brilliance, geese flying south and my bird feeders mobbed by birds on some days, and cooler days and nights. I’m offering a special discount until the last day of autumn, December 20, 2014, on all autumn-themed artwork in my Etsy shop: 25% off anything in my Landscapes and Still Lifes Gallery. Just use the code “AUTUMN25” for your special discount.Just as I have galleries of summer and winter artwork, so do I have a gallery of autumn artwork. Just a few are featured here but you can view and read about others in my Etsy gallery. As much of autumn artwork has to do with trees doing their autumn thing, and Western Pennsylvania is largely tree covered, I’ve had a lot of material to work with through the years. Some were painted en plein air, some were studio pieces. Click on any of the images in this newsletter, top, sidebar, text area or bottom, to find out more about it. This year I’m adding a new image to my autumn gallery, “Colorful Autumn Trail”, which I featured in my exhibit on the Panhandle Trail, “Sun Shadow Ice & Snow”. I am happy to say I sold the original during the event, but I have archival-quality digital prints of this piece, and can easily have gicleé prints and canvas prints made. As a new way to present prints of my artwork. you’ll find many are gallery-wrapped canvas prints, including “Main Street at Twilight”, at the top. That’s not the only photograph in this collection, as I’m also offering the ever-popular “Market Flowers” and “Fresh Peppers”. I’m also offering several popular paintings as canvas prints: “Birches 1: Autumn Showers” and  “Birches 2: Radiance”, and “Autumn in the Valley” and “Dusk in the Woods”. Each of these is 16″ x 20″ and would make wonderful sets of two or even four. They can hang unframed, just as they are, or they can easily slip into a standard frame size with no need for glass or mat. Please ask about framing options. I’m offering a special discount until the last day of autumn, December 20, 2014, on all autumn-themed artwork in my Etsy shop: 25% off anything in my Landscapes and Still Lifes Gallery. Just use the code “AUTUMN25” for your special discount. . . . . . . . I also have a selection of sets of holiday cards featuring scenes from nature in photos and art: “Backyard Bird Paintings” • “Cardinals on a Snowy Day” • “Unexpected Berries” • “Winter Walks” • “Winter Beauty Paintings” Browse my full selection of Holiday Cards. . . . . . . . Thank you for browsing my artwork in this e-newsletter. If you’d like to share this with a friend, please use the “Forward to a Fried” link below and this will ensure the e-mail and its contents compose correctly when forwarded, and if you’ve received this from a friend and want to receive my studio e-newsletters on a regular basis, use the “subscription preferences” below to sign up. As always, if you are no longer interested in receiving these e-mails, use the subscription preferences below to remove your e-mail from the list. Visit my shop on Etsy  »

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Small Canvas Prints of Artwork

The current collection of small canvas prints.

I like to have a selection of small canvas prints on hand and with the coming of the autumn shopping season I’m stocking up—plus, I get a great deal if I purchase several at once, and I can pass that on to you. I recently ordered these six canvas prints and look forward to ordering more. You can click on just about each one of them to go to the post on Etsy with the art, but I discovered I don’t have posts set up for “Waiting for Mom” and “After Dinner Nap”, two pretty popular ones! When I get those set up I’ll link them here.

“Waiting for Mom” canvas print.

You can find great deals on canvas prints all over the place and I’ve pursued them all. 8″ x 10″ prints can be difficult to find, and even though they’re small they’re not inexpensive, but they can, unfortunately, be “cheap”. Cheaply made, that is. These are consistently quality, and I can sell them for a more affordable price: $35 instead of the $50 it took to cover the cost of having the canvas made and having it shipped to me or having the canvas printed and stretching it myself. They’re pretty nice for that price.

“Two Cats After van Gogh” canvas print.

And everyone makes them differently, different edge widths, different canvas wrap styles, different levels of quality in the thickness of the canvas…So after trying out a dozen companies I’ve settled on one for this size, and for 8″ x 8″, which I’ll also be offering with my square paintings.

“Peaches and Peonies” canvas print.

Eventually I may try some tests with canvas in my new printer, but after working out the cost of the canvas paper and toner, and the stretchers, and the time, this is actually less expensive! If you’d like one I don’t have in stock it may take a week or so, though.

“Cat With Fruit” canvas.

Some of these paintings you may recognize as daily sketches, and some are only 4″ x 6″, but they enlarge nicely. Some of the others are as large as 18″ x 24″, but they still hold detail when reduced and look nice at that size.

“Are You Looking at Me?” canvas

I sign each canvas near my signature that’s printed on the painting, usually in gold, silver or copper marker so it can be distinguished from my original signature. The copyright notice you see in white at the bottom of each of these photos does not appear on the canvas.

“After Dinner Nap” canvas.

These can hang right on the wall, or you can drop them into a frame. If you just want them on the wall with no frame, I’ve also added finishing touches to the sides. When I photograph or scan a piece of artwork I include the rough edges, and when I make certain prints, like canvas prints, I include this if possible so it looks more authentically like a painting. As appropriate, each of the paintings extends around to the back, or if that doesn’t work it’s mirrored so it repeats the edges of the painting, or it has a coordinating color. Below is a gallery of the edges of each of these paintings.

I can also have a canvas print made of just about any piece of artwork you see here or in my Etsy shop, for the same price as one of these canvases. If you don’t see a canvas you’d like here, check in my Etsy shop. Also, I can have other sizes canvas prints made. Send an email if you have a question.

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See more “Kitty Things”, feline-themed things I’ve made or with which I decorate my home, or which I’ve seen elsewhere. Also read other articles about my garden flags.

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Find out about events and festivals where you can find me and my work.

Sign up for my e-newsletter (below), check the widget on the sidebar on my home page, or sign up to receive posts on Portraits of Animals Marketplace. I plan on plenty of events this coming summer in the Pittsburgh area.

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

 

 

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Subscribe to My E-newsletter

Subscribe to The Creative Cat e-newsletter for specials on exclusively feline-themed art and merchandise.

---

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 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.

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

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

FACEBOOK | TWITTER | LINKEDIN | ETSY SHOP | PINTEREST | TUMBLR | STUMBLEUPON | GOOGLE+ | EMAIL

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“Taking Flight”, Original Pastel and Prints

“Taking Flight”, pastel on Canson pastel paper, 18.25″ wide x 12.25″ high

Many years ago I saw two captive whooping cranes, likely visiting the Pittsburgh Zoo. I marveled at their size–they were nearly as tall as me! But it was when one of them spread its wings that I was truly enchanted by the pure white body, neat brown wing tips and tiny touches of yellow highlight here and there, and the grace of that huge bird.

Detail, cranes.

And I read about them and discovered their plight, having no idea they were so imperiled. Visiting what had once been their habitat on Assateague Island, Virginia, I imagined what they might have looked like in the whispering marshes.

Detail, marsh grasses.

What would their afternoon have been like? Using my photos of those marshes and many images of whooping cranes, I painted this in pastel, trying to capture the details that had stayed with me at seeing them, but also the feeling of movement in the marshes I had visited, the waving sedges, lapping water and constant breeze from the ocean.

Detail, water, “Taking Flight”.

And those late summer colors, blue sky reflected on the water, reflected on the cranes.

This painting is 18.25″ wide x 12.25″ high using Rembrandt pastels on Canson pastel paper because, again, I wanted to use the texture of the paper to break up the image, loosen up the edges to capture that feeling of constant movement on a breezy day in a marsh, the marsh grasses waving, the water lapping, the cranes splashing through the water. Though I wanted it loose it ended up being looser than I’d intended; I was still working in a fairly detailed style then and had pictured the birds with more detail, but I reached this point and stopped, then decided this was it.

This is an original pastel painting of two whooping cranes taking off in a marsh on a summer afternoon, 18.25″ wide x 12.25″ high using Rembrandt pastels on Canson pastel paper.

ORIGINAL PAINTING

The painting is 18.5″ wide x 13″ high, matted with a 4″ warm cream acid-free mat with 1/4″ burnished gold wood fillet edging and 1-1/4″ burnished gold frame. The backing is acid-free foam core and the glass is premium clear glass. You can find the original and prints made from it in my Etsy shop.

GICLEE PRINTS

The giclees are printed on acid-free hot press art paper for a smooth matte finish using archival inks. Giclee is the highest quality print available because the technique uses a dozen or more ink ports to capture all the nuances of the original painting, including details of the texture, far more sensitive than any other printing medium. Sometimes my giclees look so much like my originals that even I have a difficult time telling them apart when they are in frames.

I don’t keep giclee prints in stock for most of my works. Usually I have giclees printed as they are ordered unless I have an exhibit where I’ll be selling a particular print so there is a wait of up to two weeks before receipt of your print to allow for time to print and ship.

I offer giclees of this painting in two different sizes: the full size of 18.25″ wide x 12.25″ and a roughly half-size of 8″ x 12″.

DIGITAL PRINTS

Digital prints are made on acid-free matte-finish natural white 100# cover using archival digital inks. While digital prints are not the quality of a giclee in capturing every nuance and detail of color, texture and shading, I am still very pleased with the outcome and usually only I, as the artist, could tell where detail and color were not as sharp as the original. Digital prints are available up to full size of 18.25″ wide x 12.25″, which is printed on 13″ x 19″ paper and so has very little white border. Other sizes have at least a 1″ white border, 2″ if possible. All are countersigned by me.

CANVAS PRINTS

Because the standard size canvas prints are not proportional to the original painting, canvas prints of this painting will have a portion cropped off of each side.

I usually have at least one of the smaller sizes of canvases on hand, but order larger ones as they are ordered here because customers often want a custom size. Smaller canvases are a 3/4″ in depth, canvases 12 x 16 and larger are 1-1/2″ in depth. While I usually I set up canvases so the image runs from edge to edge, then the sides are black or white or a color that coordinates with the painting, these canvases actually wrap around using the area of the painting outside of the trim size.

SHIPPING

Prints up to 16″ x 20″ are shipped flat in a rigid envelope.

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Other Wildlife Art

You can find other wildlife artwork in my Etsy shop.

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Subscribe to My E-newsletter

Subscribe to The Creative Cat e-newsletter for specials on exclusively feline-themed art and merchandise.

---

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 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.

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

FACEBOOK | TWITTER | LINKEDIN | ETSY SHOP | PINTEREST | TUMBLR | STUMBLEUPON | GOOGLE+ | EMAIL

HOME

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