A Purrfect Gift Box or a Gift In Itself, After Dinner Nap Keepsake Box

After Dinner Nap keepsake

“The face that launched a thousand portraits,” my Stanley, the feline mascot of my business, appearing on my business card and brochure cover. As I set up the pages for this site I sat back and thought about possibly using another piece of artwork as my signature for the site.

This keepsake has my painting “After Dinner Nap” on the top and a green and copper crackle finish on the sides. Box measures 10″ x 8″ x 4.5″ high. Price includes shipping. Read more about “After Dinner Nap” below.

Use for storage for small items, photos or special keepsakes, or use as gift boxes.

I choose a variety of papier-mâché boxes from the craft store, envisioning the art I’ll print and decoupage to them and the colors I’ll paint them, and spend a few days creating and embellishing, under feline supervision, of course.

I use soy-based acrylic paints and print my artwork on acid-free matte-finish paper with archival waterproof inks and adhere the print to the box. Box insides are unfinished.

The boxes are handmade in their country of origin and may vary slightly in size and shape or have slight imperfections, but each one is an original and I often make a particular design only once.

PURCHASE THIS BOX

[ss_product id=’b9770772-ff8b-11e6-9d70-002590787d08′ ]Handmade Feline, After Dinner Nap 10″ Rectangular Keepsake Box[/ss_product]

About the artwork

This portrait changed my world, as an artist and in my career. The day I finished this portrait in 1997, I knew I had reached a higher level of skill as an artist and a deeper level of visualization combined with that skill that goes way beyond reproducing what I see, very far into what I feel. Stanley was a difficult soul having been abused before he was dumped outdoors, but his real personality was sweet, fun, silly and relaxed, and for all his issues I loved him completely. In this scene, the after dinner nap he enjoyed just about every day, I found that part of him, and that part of me, and got it onto the paper. It’s been magic since then, not just with my portraits and other animal artwork, but with all my artwork. I may have arrived at that point as an artist eventually, but it was my deep feeling for Stanley that delivered me to the door, which I had only to open.

Many cats have inspired me since this portrait in 1997, which is why feline art is featured here. Painting my cats, in turn, led to painting the landscape around me, the local areas which I’ve loved since I was a small child, and still lifes and then painting wildlife.

Stanley was with me for 21 years, and considering that he was an adult when he arrived on my porch of his own accord, that meant he was nearing the quarter-century mark when he died in 2007, inspiring until the end as I was photographing and sketching him until his final month. Please read more stories about Stanley, and see other art and photos featuring him on The Creative Cat where I’ve been writing about my cats for years.

See other keepsake boxes

Keepsake boxes

Also see gift boxes

Gift boxes

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© 2022 | www.PortraitsOfAnimals.net | Published by Bernadette E. Kazmarski

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 to see if I have it available already. If you don’t find it there, visit “purchasing” for availability and terms.

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