Daily Sketch: Boyz at Play 2
Posted: April 14, 2012 Filed under: animal artwork, black cats, cats, daily sketch, giuseppe, jelly bean, mr. sunshine | Tags: black cats, cat art, cat sketches, cats, pen sketch of cats, purple cats, three cats 3 Comments
Boyz at Play, purple gel pen © B.E. Kazmarski
Quite the play session, though I don’t know what the object was, perhaps a tiny spider since they’ve been appearing as the spring progresses. Jelly Bean is in front pouncing, his tail straight up in the air with that little bend near the top. Giuseppe needs to be the center of everything as an opera star should be, and tries to angle around Bean for a swat at whatever it is. Mr. Sunshine hangs in the background waiting for whatever it is to come his way and he’ll show it who’s boss. The three were on the table in front of the window.
Purple gel pen because that was what I grabbed when I wanted to sketch. Why not?
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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: 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.
Catnip Party: 2011
Posted: March 27, 2012 Filed under: black cats, cat photographs, cats, cookie, daily photo, mewsette, mimi, photographs, senior cats, tortoiseshell cats | Tags: black cats, cat photographs, feline photographs, pet photography, photography, three cats, tortoiseshell cat 2 Comments
The Girls Have a Catnip Party
Three of the girls organize an impromptu catnip party on the sunny landing. Actually, Cookie was enjoying the catnip candy cane first, and was joined by Mimi and Mewsette to take turns biting, licking and rubbing their faces on the upstairs catnip candy cane.
Cookie enjoys the catnip on the sunny landing.
Surely no one would notice Mewsette easing in for her 'nip.
It remained peaceful and amiable until Cookie, who started the party, decided to end it by pulling the toy away from Mimi and Mewsette and getting her nip’s worth. Cookie can take on two cats, one who is more than twice her size and 16 years her junior. I thought it was magnanimous of her to allow them to party with her in the first place.
Don't even think of touching that catnip toy.
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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: Colorful Cuddling Kitties
Posted: February 25, 2012 Filed under: animal artwork, black cats, cats, daily sketch, giuseppe, jelly bean, mimi, watercolor | Tags: black cat, cat art, cat sketches, cats, colorful cats, three cats, three cats sleeping 2 Comments
Colorful Cuddling Kitties, watercolor pencil (before the water) © B.E. Kazmarski
Giuseppe at the top, Bean, left and Mimi, right, the three are cuddled on a fleece bed.
I finally found my watercolor pencils, or colored pencils with leads made of compressed watercolor; could not purchase another set while there was still one in the house, a very old one from some donated art supplies or an estate sale.
So it’s really easy to sketch cats while they are sleeping because they aren’t moving too much—though you’d be surprised how much they actually do move. I used as many colors as I could just to try them all, each cat a different color and different outline, the bed (which is actually like a cerise, light yellow-green, but didn’t scan that way). One thing I learned, looking at the right side of the drawing, is that the “lead” isn’t as hard as regular colored pencil and actually smeared when I moved it around a little bit on the platen to scan it.
Anyway, take a good look at “Colorful Cuddling Kitties” above because that’s the only version you’ll see that looks like that. I got my brushes and some water and painted it over the pencil lines, seen below.
Colorful Cuddling Kitties, watercolor pencil with washes © B.E. Kazmarski
Cool! The pencil works up right away, except for the purple, who knows why, but I like how it held the outlines where I used it. Colors are nice and bright and this could be more convenient to carry “into the field” than a little tray of watercolors; I can either do the sketch and bring it home to finish if I’m not carrying usable water or brushes with me, or I can use it right there. Much easier to use on the little 5″ x 7″ watercolor pad I carry too.
I can do that around the house too. Think I’ll play around with it this week.
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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: Pink Blue Green
Posted: January 1, 2012 Filed under: animal artwork, black cats, cats, daily sketch, giuseppe, jelly bean, mimi, mr. sunshine | Tags: black cat, cat art, cat sketches, cats, three cats, three cats in color 2 Comments
Pink Blue Green.
Three cats, once again on my studio floor, Mimi, JellyBean and Giuseppe. This is entirely in marker, all brush-tip markers. I’m growing accustomed to drawing lines with these instead of my crow-quill points, and I appreciate not needing to keep track of a bottle of ink while I’m standing and doing a quick sketch. I will soon enough do a sketch in the crow-quill so you can see the difference.
And I had a dream that I took the cap off the black marker and it was all worn down with no brush tip left at all, which is what I usually do with markers—really I did.
But I’m not happy when a brand new package of markers has a few that are already a little dried out and come out darker than they should. Well, it’s a sketch, not a masterpiece!
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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: Colorful Cuddle Puddle
Posted: December 26, 2011 Filed under: animal artwork, black cats, cats, daily sketch, giuseppe, mewsette, mr. sunshine | Tags: black cat, cat art, cat sketches, cats, three cats, three cats in color 3 Comments
Colorful Cuddle Puddle, colored pencil © B.E. Kazmarski
Mewsette, Mr. Sunshine and Giuseppe cuddle on the floor of my studio. It’s hard enough to distinguish them in real life, let alone in a sketch, so I did each of them in a different color. The colors relate to something from when they were kittens—they were all so much alike, aside from Jelly Bean with his white spots, and I felt the need to tell them apart, so I added a fingerprint of tempera paint to their left ear, one color per kitten, the same every day. Mewsette was the red kitty by default, Mr. Sunshine was the yellow kitty for obvious reasons, and Giuseppe was by chance the green kitty though this resulted in his full name, Giuseppe Verdi, opera composer, or Joe Green in English. Unfortunately, I didn’t have a good golden yellow deep enough to carry a drawing, so I used turquoise for Mr. Sunshine for this one.
I’m glad I did two sketches today. I had initially done a little watercolor but it was neither scanning nor photographing well so it will have to wait for tomorrow or another day.
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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: Trzy Koty
Posted: December 24, 2011 Filed under: animal artwork, black cats, cats, cookie, daily sketch, giuseppe, mr. sunshine, tortoiseshell cats | Tags: black cat, cat art, cat sketches, cats, conte crayon, three cats, three cats from the back 8 Comments
Trzy Koty, conté crayon © B.E. Kazmarski
Cookie, Giuseppe and Mr. Sunshine watch the evening fall on Christmas Eve.
Sketched in red conté for the holiday!
“Trzy koty” is Polish for “three cats”.
Hope you have a very merry holiday season, whichever and however you are celebrating!
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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: Dinnertime!
Posted: December 7, 2011 Filed under: animal artwork, cats, daily sketch | Tags: cat art, cat sketches, cats, cats eating, original art, pencil sketch, three cats 12 Comments
Dinnertime!, pencil © B.E. Kazmarski
It’s Kelly, Mimi and Cookie enjoying dinner. No time for a sketch this morning, the usual time for sketches as warm-ups, but I knew I’d be gone all day, hoping I could get one later.
I knew I wanted to get this one, but also knew I’d have a limited time since they get their bowls before the young animals do and the three girls don’t waste any time once they get to it. I had my sketchbook and pencil on the sink and as soon as I set down the bowls for the kids I got right to the sketch.
This sketch is available for sale in my Etsy shop. Why this one and a few others, but not all of them? See below.
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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. I don’t want to list every single one so I have to decide by my own arbitrary and subjective method if I think someone somewhere would like to buy this sketch. Some of them just look like sketches other people would like to have in their home, so those are the ones I post for sale. If you don’t see one on Etsy you’d like, send me an e-mail—it might have been sold, or I might just have just thought it wouldn’t be as appealing as another.
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.
Catnip Party
Posted: March 27, 2011 Filed under: black cats, cat photographs, cats, my household of felines, photographs, senior cats, tortoiseshell cats | Tags: black cats, cat photographs, feline photographs, pet photography, photography, three cats, tortoiseshell cat 2 CommentsThe Girls Have a Catnip Party
Three of the girls organize an impromptu catnip party on the sunny landing. Cookie, Mimi and Mewsette take turns biting, licking and rubbing their faces on the upstairs catnip candy cane.
It remained peaceful and amiable until Cookie, who started the party, decided to end it by pulling the toy away from Mimi and giving Mewsette a little shove and a glare. Trust a tortie to take on a cat who is more than twice her size and 16 years her junior. I thought it was magnanimous of her to allow them to party with her in the first place.
We’re Glad Christmas is Here
Posted: December 24, 2010 Filed under: black cats, cat photographs, cats, cookie, mimi, mr. sunshine, my household of felines, photographs | Tags: cat photographs, cats and crafts, jewelry, pet photography, three cats, yarn 7 Comments
I have worn them out.
But not for all the goodies we get—mom totally wore us out! Up all night at the computer, in the studio, making this, painting that, crocheting the other. We’re just exhausted.
So last night I actually decided to “start” on a few gifts…haven’t had a whole lot of time for that! I totally trashed my bed with trinkets and lost jewelry and yarn and whatnot. Mr. Sunshine, Cookie and Mimi tried to keep up with me, but gave up.
I don’t usually work on projects in my bedroom, but I’ve spent long nights in my other two work rooms and even in the kitchen, so I decided to take a break and get a new perspective. Since soft, cozy sleeping spots are less numerous in the other rooms, the household heartily accompanied me. By the time I was done I had all seven on the bed with me. No picture of that, though!
The Creative Cat 