A Stretch Upon Rising, orange colored pencil © B.E. Kazmarski

Mr. Sunshine awoke from his nap on my desk, arose and stretched in one graceful movement, from lying curled to fully arched and flexing nearly every muscle in his body.

Of course, he completely blocked my computer so I grabbed the ever-present sketchbook and a colored pencil and got a quick outline nearly done, then firmed it up from memory in the next few moments.

Orange because Mr. Sunshine was the yellow kitten, part of the reason his name is Sunshine, but yellow doesn’t translate well on white paper so I use a variety of warm colors to represent him.

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Click here to see other daily sketches.

For a gallery of the ones available for sale, visit my Etsy shop in the “Daily Sketches” section.

Read about the reason for the daily sketches in The Artist’s Life: Daily Sketches.

And read about purchasing them and requesting them as a donation item for your shelter or rescue group in The Artist’s Life: Daily Sketches for Sale and Donation.

All images used on this site are copyrighted to Bernadette E. Kazmarski unless otherwise noted and may not be used without my written permission. Please ask if you are interested in purchasing one as a print, or to use in a print or internet publication.

Could be lunch.

“Broiled.”

“No, too tough. Roasted, in his own juices.”

“We’ll make mom really happy.”

“I know, he stole her little nut grinder from the deck, and he broke two bird feeders.”

“Wait a minute, there’s a better way.”

“Raw.”

“Yes, raw.”

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To see more daily photos go to “Daily Images” in the menu and choose “All Photos” or any other category.

All images used on this site are copyrighted to Bernadette E. Kazmarski unless otherwise noted and may not be used without my written permission. Please ask if you are interested in purchasing one as a print, or to use in a print or internet publication.

Mewsette, Giuseppe and Jelly Bean inspect each card.

In case you have any doubt of the quality of anything I produce in my studio, meet the feline inspection team. They were part of my post yesterday about the cards they are inspecting, but because they do such a good job of critiquing and inspecting my work and products, I thought they deserved their own post. I will just say that they don’t hesitate to be honest about their opinions.

As you can see by their expressions in the photo below, something is apparently dreadfully wrong…

"These cats are all covered with funny markings," say the three perfect black cats.

…I determined later, their apparent disapproval had to do with the fact that the cats depicted were covered with odd lines and marks on their faces, not the perfect solid black of the trio. I reminded them of their buddy Dickie, a tabby cat who we fostered for a year, and all was once again in order.

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To see more daily photos go to “Daily Images” in the menu and choose “All Photos” or any other category.

All images used on this site are copyrighted to Bernadette E. Kazmarski unless otherwise noted and may not be used without my written permission. Please ask if you are interested in purchasing one as a print, or to use in a print or internet publication.

Nuzzles and Purrrrrs for Valentine's Day!

Here are four more designs to finish out my set of Valentine note cards and greeting cards, as always inspired by and based on images of my household of felines!

As an artist I turn to my surroundings for creative output, and what better to do with a family of five black cats during the festive Halloween season? I posted many of these photos on my blog, The Creative Cat, for my daily photos. Each of the cats depicted here is one of mine. My cats have no choice but to be models, especially “if they like to eat” as I always tell them when they roll their eyes.

Nuzzles and Purrrrrs

The operatically romantic Giuseppe and the French-Canadian belle femme Mlle. Daisy Emerald Marguerite have been carrying on a long-distance affaire since the summer of 2011; they always conclude their correspondence with “nuzzles and purrrrrs”.

I photographed Mewsette and Giuseppe cuddling on my desk while I worked at my computer and posted them as a daily photo on The Creative Cat. So many readers immediately said “Valentine” that I thought I’d oblige with a design! And even though it’s Mewsette and not Mlle. Daisy, Mewsette still knows when her brother needs a hug.

These greeting cards are 5″ x 7″ and are printed on 14 pt. matte-coated stock. The message inside is “NUZZLES AND PURRRRRS” in a really fun font. Each card comes with Autumn Red 70 lb. text weight acid-free envelopes which are inkjet/laser compatible. They are packed in a clear-top vinyl greeting card box. I sell them as a set of six in my shop on Etsy.

Heart Cats, featuring Mr. Sunshine and Mewsette.

Heart Cats

The siblings of the Fantastic Four often cuddle and hug, cheek to cheek, but this design adapted from the original heart-shaped cats photo of Mr. Sunshine and Mewsette is still my favorite; the background color of the card is adapted from the color of their eyes.

I photographed these two in the bathroom at night in poor light, but no matter, such a sweet photo I’d do my best. Since then I’ve adapted the two into many different designs and colors. Here, for Valentine’s day, they are solid black with the solid cerise of their eyes, and just one red heart as they hug.

These are note cards at 4-1/4″ x 5-1/2″ and are printed on matte-coated stock. The message inside is “YOU ARE MY HEART CAT” in a really fun font. Each card comes with Autumn Red 70 lb. text weight acid-free envelopes which are inkjet/laser compatible. They are packed in a clear-top vinyl greeting card box.

They are available as a set of 12 in my shop on Etsy.

Steal a Moment With a Kitty You Love

Steal a Moment

This photo was originally an unfocused mistake but I liked it better than the focused version, and so did many readers of The Creative Cat!

These greeting cards are 5″ x 7″ and are printed on 14 pt. matte-coated stock. The message inside is a simple “HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY”. Each card comes with Autumn Red 70 lb. text weight acid-free envelopes which are inkjet/laser compatible. They are packed in a clear-top vinyl greeting card box. I sell them as a set of six in my shop on Etsy.

Silhouettes for Valentine's Day.

Silhouettes for Valentine’s Day

I originated this design as a Halloween card using autumn shades in autumn 2011, but with a little color change it suits Valentine’s Day! It features my photograph of the Harvest Moon and the silhouettes of two of my five black cats.

These greeting cards are 5″ x 7″ and are printed on 14 pt. matte-coated stock.

This card is blank inside, ready for your message.

Each card comes with Autumn Red 70 lb. text weight acid-free envelopes which are inkjet/laser compatible. They are packed in a clear-top vinyl greeting card box.

They are all on Etsy

In addition to the four cards featured here you’ll find other designs on Etsy. Read about them on Portraits of Animals Marketplace.

Purple Cats Valentine Note Cards

Block Print Valentine Note Cards

And a special issue of a block print matted and framed for Valentine’s Day:

Awakening, a Special for Valentine’s Day

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All images and text used in this article are copyrighted to Bernadette E. Kazmarski unless otherwise noted and may not be used without my written permission. Please ask if you are interested in purchasing one as a print, or to use in a print or internet publication.

Namir in January morning sun.

January light is so beautiful, the sun still at a low angle streaming into windows and doors, the days often overcast and the brilliant warm yellow sunlight a respite.

I was browsing my library of feline photos and saw this one of Namir from 2007, who you’ve only met through stories since he passed about the time I began blogging, and thought I’d share it. He has his toys there, the sisal mouse and a milk bottle ring, but as animals, and humans, do when they meet up with the relaxing effect of warm winter sun, a contemplative stillness falls, and perhaps a nap ensues.

Namir was so graceful and dignified and obviously knew how to strike a pose, even though he was a total goof and in another moment could be on his back with his legs impossibly twisted, or toss that mouse up in the air and do a back flip right after it. I love his pose, and also the little touches of home, my home, the canning jars, honey jar, oatmeal container; perhaps I only love it so much because it was one of those complete moments that we all experience now and then, where every familiar thing is in its place and all is warm and safe and filled with love.

I took a series of photos of Namir in the sun in the kitchen that January, enjoying them as photos and intending to do a few paintings, and indeed I did do a watercolor of one of Namir’s poses from another morning.

Darling Clementine, watercolor © B.E. Kazmarski

I chose this one because I also liked Namir’s intent posture, ears forward, whiskers drawn back, his tail curled into the nearly perfect circle that was his trademark tail action.

This photo had much more light in it as it washed the cabinet, but I also had the wooden clementines box filled with things that needed to go into the basement, the canning jars and the cylindrical cardboard containers with their brightly-colored labels. Another example of that homey feel, my kitchen, my stuff, my habits, my cat, my home. Yet others enjoy it too. Sometimes we are not too different from one another.

I also posted this on Today today; it’s one I’d wanted to share with both audiences.

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To see more daily photos go to “Daily Images” in the menu and choose “All Photos” or any other category.

All images and text used on this site are copyrighted to Bernadette E. Kazmarski unless otherwise noted and may not be used in any way without my written permission. Please ask if you are interested in purchasing one as a print, or to use in a print or internet publication.

Cookie checks the "cookie jar", an old canister I used for outdoor plants this year.

I’ll plant flowers and vegetables in anything—with Cookie’s supervision, of course! Occasionally I go around to yard sales and buy some cheap ceramic items and use them for flower pots, in this case a canister set that had mostly broken lids so each pot was maybe a dime.

This one in particular held a pepper plant, not a cookie tree, but even though Cookie has been interacting with this pot nearly every day since last spring, checking it every morning, sitting by it in shade and sun, drinking from it and lately eating her snow cone from it, I never noticed it said “Cookies” until today. Guess that might have been why she’s been so fond of it.

Once she was done inspecting the inside for cookies, she decided to do the typical cat thing with the stem—run her nose along it, then gnaw on it for a bit.

Getting some mileage out of the twig.

We are winning little battles, but we are slowly losing the war. Her hyperothyroidism along with the renal issues have been causing her heart to enlarge and it’s beginning to impede her circulation and breathing; she is frequently short of breath and her hind legs are typically weak. I carry her around though she doesn’t like it, but I can’t see her straining on steps and possibly falling.

Kelly has calmed down and attempts some comfort for Cookie, cuddling with her and giving her a pretty complete bath now and then.

Mimi sits with her by the kitchen furnace vent which is under a chair, forming a barrier so the heat will stay underneath and keep Cookie warm, and gives her very practical momcat baths.

The Fantastic Four keep an eye on her, and I’ll see one or another moving toward the top of the steps if she’s headed in that direction, Giuseppe keeps an eye on her on the cabinet in the kitchen, Mewsette cuddles with her, and Jelly Bean sits next to her and purrs fervently.

One evening as I was checking her temperature and heart rate behind the closed bathroom door, much to her objection, I could hear shuffling outside the door and knew the Four were out there, probably waiting to see if any food would come their way. Then Mr. Sunshine’s favorite wooden clothespin emerged little by little under the door right next to us, followed by a black paw giving it one final shove. I thought that was darned nice of Mr. Sunshine to give us his best clothespin, knowing it would make us as happy as it made him.

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To see more daily photos go to “Daily Images” in the menu and choose “All Photos” or any other category.

All images and text used in this article are copyrighted to Bernadette E. Kazmarski unless otherwise noted and may not be used without my written permission. Please ask if you are interested in purchasing one as a print, or to use in a print or internet publication.

Linoleum block-printed Valentine cards inspired by Valentine Candy hearts!

I usually print these little linocuts in earth tones or “tabby colors”, but I’ve been itching to use brights and pastels and all sorts of combinations with them. Considering the designs, what better time to start with this than Valentine’s day to create hand-printed cards in magenta on pink, violet, magenta and red card stock, embellished with magenta or purple stamp ink, just saturated with color for Valentine’s Day!

This set of 4-1/4″ x 5-1/2″ note cards features two designs combining my hand-cut block prints with commercial rubber stamps on smooth uncoated 70 lb. cover stock.

I offer them in sets of single color cards with matching envelopes and in one big set of all four colors.

Magenta on pink set.

PINK, VIOLET AND MAGENTA CARDS
A single kitty entitled “Sunshine and Flowers” printed in magenta says “MEOW!” stamped in magenta with a commercial rubber stamp. Inside “You’re PURRRFECT” is stamped in magenta with a commercial rubber stamp.

Two kitties cuddling for a bath say “You’re PURRRFECT” stamped in magenta with a commercial rubber stamp. Inside “MEOW!” is stamped in magenta with a commercial rubber stamp.

Magenta on red with purple stamp ink.

RED CARDS
A single kitty entitled “Sunshine and Flowers” printed in magenta says “MEOW!” stamped in purple with a commercial rubber stamp. Inside “You’re PURRRFECT” is stamped in purple with a commercial rubber stamp.

Two kitties cuddling for a bath say “You’re PURRRFECT” stamped in purple with a commercial rubber stamp. Inside “MEOW!” is stamped in purple with a commercial rubber stamp.

Violet cards printed in magenta.

On the back of all the cards I’ve stamped in purple ink the name of the series of block prints, my logo and my name and contact information.

Each set comes with Soft Pink 70 lb. text weight acid-free envelopes which are inkjet/laser compatible. The set of six, including three each of the two designs, are packed in a clear-top vinyl greeting card box.

Individual color sets come with matching envelopes, and use these links to find each of these sets in my Etsy shop:

Pink cards come with Soft Pink envelopes.

Violet cards come with Soft Violet envelopes.

Magenta cards come with Autumn Red envelopes.

Red cards come with Autumn Red envelopes.

Mewsette, Giuseppe and Jelly Bean inspect each card.

ABOUT THE ART: TABBIES LINOLEUM BLOCK PRINTS

The stripes made me do it! The clarity of tabby cat stripes as they outline a cat’s features and define its shape has always been an inspiration for more graphic designs.

These cards were block printed, 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.

These two designs are from a set of four, and have always had a sweet and cuddly feel to me. I’d always printed these in natural earth tones but have been planning to print them in bright colors on brightly-colored paper as well.

Please explore my greeting card collections in my shop on Etsy to see all the designs and others too.

"These cats are all covered with funny markings," say the three perfect black cats.

I photographed the process as I printed these—of course, with feline supervision—and I’ll be posting my article soon to explain how block prints are made.

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All images and text used in this article are copyrighted to Bernadette E. Kazmarski unless otherwise noted and may not be used without my written permission. Please ask if you are interested in purchasing one as a print, or to use in a print or internet publication.

Purple Cats Valentine Note Cards

You may recognize this little painting—it was one of my most popular daily sketches, “Purple Cats, Red Blanket”, and just lends itself to a Valentine theme.

These note cards are 4-1/4″ x 5-1/2″ and printed on uncoated cover stock, rather than the matte finish stock I usually prefer for cards, to mimic the original watercolor paper I used for the illustration.

The message inside is “Purr Hearts”, which I drew by hand in pen, a message that can be given to a friend or to someone who is a little more than a friend!

Purr Hearts, my own little doodle in ink

Each card comes with Autumn Red 70 lb. text weight acid-free envelopes which are inkjet/laser compatible. They are packed in a clear-top vinyl greeting card box.

I will have these small note cards available in my Etsy shop until Valentine’s Day; after Valentine’s Day I will be offering the design as part of my “Feline Greetings Art Cards” selection as a 5″ x 7″ card.

Purple Cats, Red Blanket, ink and watercolor © B.E.Kazmarski

ABOUT THE ART

This daily sketch was done in felt-tip ink technical drawing pen with watercolor washes, signed and dated 1/6/12, and pictures Jelly Bean and Mewsette using a red blanket I’d tossed to the landing for the laundry as a comfy impromptu cat bed.

Black cats, like white cats, have all sorts of colors in their fur, and in the day’s filtered sunlight their fur glistened with all sorts of highlights and shadows. The randomly shaped and wrinkled red blanket heightened the range of colors in their fur and even the neutral wood floor held random combinations in its old unfinished grain. Mostly, the composition was what attracted me in the first place: two similar heavy rounded shapes, the random soft shape and the smooth shape brought elements together in a very pleasing way.

I think cats are very aware of how they can create beautiful compositions simply by being in them.

The original painting, matted and framed, is also available in my Etsy shop.

DAILY SKETCHES

If you read The Creative Cat regularly, you see my sketches nearly every day.

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 of my cats, and even of backyard birds and scenes in nature. Often I use them as illustrations for graphics projects I’m designing.

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All images and text used in this article are copyrighted to Bernadette E. Kazmarski unless otherwise noted and may not be used without my written permission. Please ask if you are interested in purchasing one as a print, or to use in a print or internet publication.

Mewsette's Nap, pencil © B.E. Kazmarski

That’s what they get when they sleep on my desk, they get sketched. Mewsette doesn’t think she looks silly with her ear turned flattened because her head is upside down. She’s really not concerned with what anyone thinks, or that she’s sleeping right on something I needed to be working on.

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Click here to see other daily sketches, and for a gallery of the ones available for sale, visit my Etsy shop in the “Daily Sketches” section.

All images used on this site are copyrighted to Bernadette E. Kazmarski unless otherwise noted and may not be used without my written permission. Please ask if you are interested in purchasing one as a print, or to use in a print or internet publication.

Cuddle Puddle behind the door.

Why is the bathroom door closed? I thought. And why is it so dark in there? And why can’t I open the door…

It’s a bi-fold that folds inward but would not, so I pushed the pin down and pulled it out of the track so it could swing free, reached in and turn on the light to reveal…

The cuddle puddle from above.

Another big gob of black cats.

I just have to guess they really, really like to be together. Plus, this is a stolen moment in a space they don’t often have available to them.  The tortie girls spend overnight in the bathroom, and a portion of the afternoon. Obviously, this is a choice spot for napping, and what better to use as a pillow than one of your siblings?

If Mimi had come along, as she sometimes does, she would just climb on top of them, bathing ears and noses as she went; she weighs less than half of any of her children.

From the front, it’s Mewsette, then Jelly Bean on the left and Mr. Sunshine under him, and Giuseppe in the back.

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To see more daily photos go to “Daily Images” in the menu and choose “All Photos” or any other category.

All images used on this site are copyrighted to Bernadette E. Kazmarski unless otherwise noted and may not be used without my written permission. Please ask if you are interested in purchasing one as a print, or to use in a print or internet publication.