Three-sided Cube: 2011
Posted: April 19, 2012 Filed under: black cats, cat behavior, cat photographs, cats, daily photo, giuseppe, jelly bean, mimi, photographs | Tags: black cats, cat cube, cat photographs, cat toys, feline photographs, pet photography, photography, three black cats 4 Comments
Three Cat Cube
How many black cats can fit in a cat cube?
Three, if Giuseppe sticks his butt out the back door!
Jelly Bean, down here in the lower left, was in there first, then his mom, Mimi, whose face you can see in the upper right of the opening, was cuddled with him.
Then Giuseppe decided he wanted to be in on the party too, and crawled in as far as he could and laid down, using JB as a pillow; you can see the back of Giuseppe’s head in the middle of the opening.
Poor Mimi had to sit up or be smothered by Giuseppe’s big hug.
This poor cube has only been here for six days and it’s taken a heck of a beating! When it isn’t full of big black cats, it’s being used as a big soccer ball as I find it all over the room, upside down, sideways, and yesterday I found Mr. Sunshine lying on top of it all flattened beneath him. We’ll see how long it can last with this type of treatment.
This was a challenging shot: I could barely get any distance between my lens and the cube, and three black cats meter pretty dark to begin with, then put them inside a red object and it was all I could do to get any detail at all. The flash lit up the cube but darkened the inside, so I had to use light streaming in from the window off to the side. Well worth the dozen shots it took to get one…
This cat cube was donated to my household by one of our tortie buddies who traveled to a certain book signing last April! Also visit The Conscious Cat to read about our the book signing, and if you have a tortie cat—I think many of you do—stop in and read ” ‘Tortitude’, the Unique Personality of Tortoiseshell Cats” and join in the discussion.
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Unless I have linked the photo to something else, which is rare with daily photos, you can click the photo to see a larger version. I save them at 1000 pixels maximum dimension, and at that size the photos are nearly twice the dimension and you can see more detail in many of the photos I post. Please remember if you download or share, my name and the link back to the original photo should always appear with it.
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.
The Chipmunk Drama
Posted: April 14, 2012 Filed under: black cats, cat photographs, cats, daily photo, giuseppe, mimi, mr. sunshine, photographs, wildlife | Tags: cats, chipmunk, pets, photography, three black cats 12 Comments
The drama begins with intent stares and lashing tails.
An exciting moment in the lives of three black cats.
Mimi was already at the window, Mr. Sunshine joined her and Giuseppe leaped off my lap when she sent out the wordless, soundless signal that only cats can understand that something was outside on the porch that needed to be stared at.
A chipmunk!
It’s a chipmunk! Those sleek little critters with their racing stripes and remote-control antenna tails straight up in the air when they run inhabit my yard and have tortured generations of cats with their darting about in plain sight.
Mimi and Mr. Sunshine focus in.
Mimi thinks to herself, I raised all my babies on chipmunks except these four. Maybe they’ll have to have a little taste…if I could only get out there…
Mimi remembers feeding her babies chipmunks...
Meanwhile, the chipmunk is stuffing his cheeks with fallen maple tree seed clusters, totally unconcerned about what is happening around him, and probably enjoying the fact that three cats are staring at him but can’t get to him.
The little guy has no idea the thoughts being had about him by three intent cats.
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Unless I have linked the photo to something else, which is rare with daily photos, you can click the photo to see a larger version. I save them at 1000 pixels maximum dimension, and at that size the photos are nearly twice the dimension and you can see more detail in many of the photos I post. Please remember if you download or share, my name and the link back to the original photo should always appear with it.
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.
Daily Sketch: Curled on the Bed
Posted: April 4, 2012 Filed under: animal artwork, black cats, cats, daily sketch, jelly bean, mimi, mr. sunshine, pencil | Tags: black cats, cat art, cat sketches, cats, pencil sketch of cats on bed, three black cats, three cats 6 Comments
Curled on the Bed, pencil © B.E. Kazmarski
What else to do on a lovely sunny afternoon but curl up in the sun on the bed? Well, some of us have to work, but kitties need their beauty sleep. They gave me a break from the computer when I decided they’d be today’s subject.
This was just as much about capturing all three, each of whom moved enough that they needed extra sketching, as it was about the bedding. I enjoyed the challenge of depicting the pattern on the postage-stamp quilt, each little square with its own pattern and color and the squares arranged in a repeating geometric pattern, as well as the pillow shams with the ruffled eyelet edging. How to render the details in pencil when much depends on color, and how much detail is just enough without drawing every little eyelet opening and every flower and line on each square? Very fun to let my hands figure it out without overthinking it, which is how I end up overdoing it.
I added a little more shading to Mimi, Jelly Bean and Mr. Sunshine since they are black, and I also liked their contrast against the quilt.
I love this particular vintage quilt because I love handmade things, and I use it as much for the background in photos and eventually paintings as just to enjoy its springtime feel. But I have to be careful with it and soon it will be gently soaked in the washer and dried outside in the shade on a warm sunny day to be put away for another spring.
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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.
Daily Sketch: Three Cats From Above
Posted: March 30, 2012 Filed under: animal artwork, black cats, cats, daily sketch, giuseppe, mimi, mr. sunshine | Tags: black cats, cat art, cat sketches, cats, cats from above, sketch of three cats, three black cats 2 Comments
Three Cats From Above, colored pencil © B.E. Kazmarski
Mimi calmly sat in the sun, Mr. Sunshine had a nice bath, and Giuseppe sat looking at them, at me, out the window, into my bedroom. I loved the arrangement of the three, each doing their own thing but being together as good friends and loving relatives can be. They were fairly content, and I had my materials in hand as I was standing there so I didn’t distract them with my own movements.
I thought I was done with the sketch when I’d done the quick studies of each of the three, then I though that what had visually tied them together for me was also the rug they were on, which is that ubiquitous pink-flowered rug we’ve seen frequently lately in sketches and photos, but I didn’t want the pattern, just the connection.
I like to get an interesting perspective on them, like looking at them from above. It’s challenging after seeing them from nearly eye level a good bit of the time when I can finish a drawing just from memory if they completely move away. Just being able to store away all these other details has caused me to study them even more closely from angles like this.
And I’ve also come to enjoy colored pencil a lot more than I ever thought I would. I actually love just drawing, making a nice expressive line on paper to try to capture the essence of a scene in the least amount of marks on paper, and will most naturally gravitate to my old ebony drawing pencils as my most familiar medium. The colored pencils are coming in a close second, even ahead of my former second favorite, the charcoal pencils. The colored pencil set in my little art bag is just a student-grade—really elementary school grade—dozen box of thick-lead pencils, just 12 colors to choose from. I have a 60-pencil set in my studio that a friend gave me when she was cleaning out her stuff. I’ll have to indulge some time.
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Unless I have linked the sketch to something else, which is rare with daily sketches, you can click the photo to see a larger version. I save them at 1000 pixels maximum dimension, and at that size the images are nearly twice the dimension and you can see more detail in many of the images I post; I hope you students do this. Please remember if you download or share, my name and the link back to the original image should always appear with it.
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.
A Situation is Developing
Posted: March 29, 2012 Filed under: black cats, cat behavior, cat photographs, cats, daily photo, giuseppe, jelly bean, mr. sunshine, photographs | Tags: black cats on steps, cat photographs, feline photographs, pet photography, photography, three black cats 4 Comments
Mr. Sunshine is up to no good.
Jelly Bean is thinking, “Someone is watching me.”
Mr. Sunshine is thinking, “Perfect angle.”
Giuseppe is above it all.
I think Mr. Sunshine is getting Bean back for a prior incident.
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Unless I have linked the photo to something else, which is rare with daily photos, you can click the photo to see a larger version. I save them at 1000 pixels maximum dimension, and at that size the photos are nearly twice the dimension and you can see more detail in many of the photos I post. Please remember if you download or share, my name and the link back to the original photo should always appear with it.
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.
On The Box
Posted: March 4, 2012 Filed under: black cats, cat photographs, cats, daily photo, jelly bean, mewsette, mimi, mr. sunshine | Tags: black cats, cat photographs, feline photographs, four black cats, pet photography, photography, three black cats 8 Comments
How many black cats can fit on the top of a box?
Any new item must be used in every way possible by every cat in the house. I’ve been moving boxes of merchandise around and everyone has been very busy.
Here Jelly Bean, Mr. Sunshine, Mimi, Mewsette settle on the top of this box and pose for a photo.
Then they start to shuffle around, Mewsette and Mr. Sunshine trap Mimi between them and give her a good bath. After all, their mom has dispensed with a lot of baths of them. Jelly Bean just waits for things to calm down.
Mewsette and Mr. Sunshine trap Mimi between them for a bath.
Then finally they all settle in, and Mr. Sunshine becomes the communal pillow, looking very relaxed and comfortable about his role here. Jelly Bean is on the end, on top of Sunshine’s hips, Mimi and Mewsette are sitting being him and draped over him, kind of like little baby possums line up on their mother.
Mimi and Mewsette use Mr. Sunshine as a pillow, and even Jelly Bean, that lump at the end.
I think Mewsette has the head-tilt cute-kitty slightly-sad-eyes down all the way.
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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.
Three: From a Year Ago
Posted: March 2, 2012 Filed under: black cats, cat photographs, daily photo, mewsette, mimi, mr. sunshine | Tags: black cats, cat photographs, cats in the sun, feline photographs, pet photography, photography, three black cats 4 Comments
Three
Any self-respecting spot of sun has to have a cat in it, right? How about three?
Here Mimi, Mewsette and Mr. Sunshine line up to catch the morning sun in their favorite room, the bathroom.
The sun has moved along, but Mr. Sunshine thinks he emits his own sunshine. He has something of an ego. He actually jumped up after Mewsette, who jumped up after Mimi, thinking perhaps there was some sort of a giveaway, then he sat there waiting for something to happen.
Mewsette and her mom bathed each other for a bit.
But I know Mimi is thinking, “One spot of sun on a tiny little table all to myself and I still can’t get away from these kids.”
Photographing three black cats so they don’t look like one big lump of black fur is a challenge, to be sure, one reason I welcome the sun and left the walls in the bathroom white for reflecting.
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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.
Daily Sketch: Massive Cuddle Puddle, the Sketch
Posted: February 29, 2012 Filed under: animal artwork, black cats, cats, daily sketch, giuseppe, jelly bean, mewsette | Tags: black cat, cat art, cat sketches, cats, sketch of cats, three black cats 5 Comments
Massive Cuddle Puddle, the Sketch, conté and charcoal © B.E. Kazmarski
So here is the sketch version of the massive cuddle puddle that blocked my computer red and brown conté and vine and pencil charcoal. Giuseppe underneath acting as a pillow for Bean and Mewsette cuddling in, they thought they’d get dinner that much earlier if they blocked my view but I made them work for their dinner as artist models in both sketch and photograph. Mr. Sunshine does not complete the foursome because I peeled a layer of paper from my charcoal pencil and he got to play with it.
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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.
Daily Sketch: Under the Kitty Keep-warm Lights
Posted: February 16, 2012 Filed under: animal artwork, black cats, cats, daily sketch, giuseppe, jelly bean, mewsette | Tags: black cat, cat art, cat sketches, cats, three black cats 2 Comments
At My Computer, conté crayon © B.E. Kazmarski
They were immobile under the kitty keep-warm lamps at my computer. I couldn’t get any work done, all I could do was sketch them.
Jelly Bean watched me because my drawing things make neat little scratching noises on the paper. Mewsette simply napped.
Giuseppe couldn’t decide on his position, starting out crouching in front of me, then suddenly sitting up. I waited, sketched a basic sketch of him crouching, then worked on finishing it. Then he sat up, indicating he’d prefer being in that position. I did too, but he had decided against it and I sketched him crouching. He insisted. I told him I’d sketch him as one big black scribble and what would Mlle. Daisy Emerald Marguerite think of that? He immediately dropped back to a crouch.
Love, what it does to cats.
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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.
Feline Inspection and Quality Control
Posted: January 30, 2012 Filed under: black cats, cat photographs, cats, daily photo, giuseppe, jelly bean, mewsette, photographs | Tags: black cats, cat photographs, cats inspecting cards, pet photography, three black cats 1 Comment
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.
The Creative Cat 