Georgie’s Portrait: Final

Georgie, final version, pastel © B.E. Kazmarski

Catching up on portraits I completed late last year, here is Georgie with her big tail and long, long whiskers, on her chair and all of her favorite toys around her. Below is a view of just her lovely face.

Close up of Georgie.

After all the color changes with Georgie’s portrait I am very pleased with her final image: her eyes are the right shade of soft seafoam green, no tan in her ruff, no patina on her curly belly, and her paws crossed in the right way. I have to thank Georgie’s mom for her patience and for sending more photos as I was working.

In Georgie’s portrait I also had the chance to work a style that focuses on the subject and leaves the background loose and undetailed, more impressionistic and colorful. For some reason, I think it was the finish on the drawing paper I used, I couldn’t get the level of photographic detail I usually want with a portrait, one of the things that really slowed me down. But at a point it was either to start over or live with it, and though she wasn’t as “smooth” as I wanted I still loved the way she looked at me.

I’ve written so much about Georgie’s portrait as I was working there isn’t much left to say here, as is always the case when a portrait is finished, but at the end of this post I’ve included a slideshow of all the images I posted of Georgie’s portrait so you can see the development (if the slideshow presents them in my numerical order…sometimes this depends on your browser), and links to the other three articles about her portrait so you can read about Georgie, the 20-year-old Maine Coon cat adopted from a shelter.

And…

I’m sad to report that Georgie died just before Christmas, 2011, unexpected since she was not suffering from any condition, but at 20 we know how quickly that can change. She is missed not only by her person but by the entire family; I remember hearing frequently how her father bought Georgie toys and visited her and took care of her when her person was away. She had always described Georgie as being very innocent and gentle, something we tried to capture in her eyes. Her person said of Georgie:

She touched so many lives in such a gentle and loving way—and had such an impact with my family, me and so many others because she had such a big heart, in addition to her big eyes and tail.  We all learned a lot from her gentle soul.  That’s why it was so difficult to lose her—everyone wanted to take care of her and be generous with her in kind.

I was honored to be able to in some small way prepare for Georgie’s passing, and to refer her to the comforting services of Deb Chebatoris of Chartiers Custom Pet Cremation.

And because it had made me feel that my cats will always be remembered when I use their images on greeting cards or tote bags or some other merchandise bearing their portraits, I asked if we could share Georgie that way too. She agreed, so we will have Georgie’s big, gentle presence in the portfolio of felines sending greetings to your friends or becoming a gift for someone special.

Read the articles about Georgie.

Georgie’s Portrait and Another: Color Corrections

Update on Georgie’s Portrait

Meet Georgie

And enjoy the slideshow!

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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.