The post card invitation to my first solo exhibit.

2000: The Extraordinary in the Ordinary

“The Extraordinary in the Ordinary:
Celebrating the art in everyday life”

In every moment of every day, everywhere I go, I see something extraordinarily beautiful and inspiring.

 The post card invitation to my first solo exhibit.

The post card invitation to my first solo exhibit.

I left my day job to work at home as a commercial artist, fine artist and writer on January 1, 2000 after freelancing as a graphic designer and participating in art exhibits hosted by membership organizations while working full time for over a decade. One of the primary reasons I left my day job to work at home was to have more time to develop my career as a fine artist and “get to my writing” whatever that worked out to be, so one of my first priorities, since I already had a list of regular customers, was to plan my first solo art exhibit.

I actually began planning in January, only waiting because I really wasn’t totally certain when I’d leave my day job, but a local gallery where I’d hung my artwork for years would be the place, and they could fit me in later in the year. I was grateful because other than promoting it I had no idea what to include or what to say.

I’d been working in advertising and promotions for years so the place to begin was a title. I had a good idea of what inspired me and that was what I wanted to use, but how to sum it up? I remembered this phrase, “the extraordinary in the ordinary”, from something I’d read over the years and it stayed with me, and I knew it fit well with my work: finding those moments that took my breath away and interpreting them as best I could in whatever medium seemed to suit the moment best, from my cats to landscapes to flowers and the streets of my home town.

I would have an opening reception on a Friday night, and then an afternoon reception on Sunday.

The back of the post card invitation to my first solo exhibit.

The back of the post card invitation to my first solo exhibit.

The artwork I chose the exhibit was, well, just about everything I’d done to that point in my life…I’m a little embarrassed when I think about it, but I was almost afraid I’d never have another chance! But as much as I liked the older paintings, the image I chose for the post card was a newer painting done in a looser style, and though not en plein air I had tried my best to capture that feeling of walking up a path and seeing this, and carrying that inspiration into my little painting. It’s called “Into the Woods at Frankfort Springs”, stepping into the wooded path and seeing the sun-splashed clearing, the ancient cabin, the dense shadows and brilliant sunlight; I didn’t get a good clear photo of it before it went off, so the image is a little soft.

In addition to the artwork I worked my writing into the exhibit by pairing images with poems or essays or statements to make little flyers that I could print out on 8.5″ x 11″ paper and mount on the wall. I used the poem Clouds featuring the autumn landscape from my four seasons series because those purple clouds are just as much autumn to me as the colorful leaves.

A special part of the exhibit was “The Four Seasons” which I had just recently finished. I was commissioned to create a work for a rather unique frame—handmade, eight feet long by one foot tall, divided into four two-foot sections. My client left the subject up to me.

After visiting her home, talking with her and looking at other works she had hanging at the time, I knew that landscapes were the only thing that would work in that frame to hang in that setting. Not just any landscape, but one that would reflect her panoramic view of the horizon from the east to the north to the west, and the hills and valleys between. And the frame, conveniently divided into four sections, gently suggested the changing seasons. What more appropriate subject than the landscape and weather of Western Pennsylvania, right outside the ­window?

Each panel depicts a season. The time of day progresses from morning to dusk. The horizon line continues from panel to panel to imitate a panoramic view of the horizon.

Each panel, then, had to reflect a representative moment in each season in this area. How to choose the most appropriate moment out of so many available in every day? I didn’t want to choose the most obvious-a clear sunny day, puffy clouds, green grass or white snow. I am inspired as much by the weather as I am by the landscape, so out of my archives of photographs of the region came the ones that startled me in their beauty, that I still remembered even years after the moment, that I had always intended to render when the opportunity came.

In choosing the scenes for each panel, I endeavored to keep the horizon line more or less continuous and, even though each panel would stand on its own as an individual work, to have the edges of one drawing seem to blend into the next panel.

One of the cutest things is that I publicly thanked my cats for inspiring me to be an artist:

I have a long list of feline companions to thank for getting me here…

Seven lovely felines share my space at the moment. I have never adopted a cat; the universe has always amply provided me with feline companionship. All of them unwanted in some way, they’ve either been left by the road, shown up on my porch or simply been given to me by people who no longer wanted them, abused and neglected, malnourished and frightened. In the process of just letting them become who they are and helping them heal physically and emotionally, we create a bond of love which not even death can tear asunder.

Others with animal companions will know as well as I that, corny as it may sound, all these critters need to do is pick up a toy to play, curl up and sleep, or walk into the room and look at you and you will cry tears of joy because you love them so much and think they’re the most beautiful creatures on earth.

Years ago, I found this love to be so very inspiring that I needed to share my feeling with others and chose to impart my cats’ images in pencil, pen and ink, charcoal, then ultimately pastel and watercolor. But as I improved my skills and learned each new medium, I also learned that while it was their image which inspired me to create a work, it was my love for them which made it speak to others so that they could share my feelings as well as enjoy the image.

I have gone on to draw others’ animal (and human) companions, along with landscapes, waterscapes, still lifes and other such typical subjects. But my companions came first and showed me how, in all of these, to turn inspiration into reality, to communicate in a way that is specifically me, and the most important lesson of all which is simply to love one’s subject, whatever the task may be, and others will love it with you. It is this love which I have endeavored to instill in every work I create.

I had all the artwork framed and only had to organize it, and planned my post cards, the food and publicity and the program, back in those days when you still faxed a press release and color digital printing was available but expensive. I thought I had it all well in hand until my brother suffered a traumatic brain injury at the end of April, and his care and progress through the system made me consider postponing or cancelling the show because I wanted to give my show all of me, not the leftovers, but friends and the gallery owner convinced me that wasn’t necessary. I was also a little scared, and I was glad everyone insisted I follow through. I worked on the program between work at home and doctor appointments, designing it to be printed at home on my trusty laser printer using some of my art in pencil and charcoal and ink, and I settled on legal size paper in a light kraft color, which I tried to represent here but did not, but that’s okay. You can see some of the art in the pages of the program, and a list of the paintings, some of which I still have, and many you can find by title on my main website.

In the end I didn’t sell much but I knew it was because I hadn’t curated the content. I learned quite a bit, and decided having shows wasn’t so frightening after all, and that I’d look for opportunities to have others because I already had ideas for new artwork, and how better to share it? It was not too early to start thinking about my exhibit for 2001 so with ideas from my first exhibit I decided that June was probably a good month since my commercial business began to slow down about that time and I could have all new artwork.

Images in This Exhibit

Here are links to the images I have either as originals or prints here on Portraits of Animals. Below this selection is a gallery of even more images.

"Spring", pastel, 12" x 24", 1998 © Bernadette E. Kazmarski

Spring is 12″ x 24″,  and though the original is sold but I offer a variety of prints on canvas or paper.



ABOUT THE ARTWORK

This painting is 12″ x 24″, and I offer dimensional canvases and full-size giclee prints, but I also offer a cropped version that fits into standard frame sizes and captures the left side of the painting only. Below is the story of the painting.

Years ago a patron of a gallery in Carnegie where I hung my artwork asked me to paint four images for a very special frame she had.

It had been designed and handmade in wood by her father-in-law, long and narrow, and had four openings, each 12″ high by 24″ wide. Each opening had its own piece of glass, and between each opening was a 1/2″ slat of wood as a divider. The outside border of the frame was 2″ wide and flat with hand carved figures which I believe were leaves, like a vine. Overall it had a warm and rustic appearance.

The frame came apart in the center so that there were two panels in each half, and art and glass slid in and out through this opening. The area for the artwork was barely deep enough for a piece of drawing paper, so he must have intended it for photos when he designed it. The frame locked together in the back so that the two halves held together and hung on the wall without sagging.

She was interested in pastel drawings on paper, which were a good choice for this since even flat painting panels would not have fit.

As soon as she described the frame to me I thought of painting the four seasons, in part because of the four sections of the frame, and it’s also a theme I enjoy here in Western Pennsylvania. The customer would enjoy it too, because I’d been to her house and large picture windows were placed to enjoy the landscape from all angles, and the view of the countryside was something she always mentioned.

So I collected reference photos from my rambles for each of the seasons, thinking purely of landscapes. But she loved white cats and had actually purchased my painting “A Warm Bath” featuring my Angora cat Sally in a bath in morning sun at my side window, and asked me to add a white cat in somewhere since she’d given that painting as a gift.

pastel painting of white cat

A Warm Bath, pastel, 12″ x 10″, 1997 © Bernadette E. Kazmarski

I really considered the best way to show this. The scenes of the landscapes were typical of landscape paintings, showing the middle and far distance, where a cat would be hard to spot. But I remembered one of her picture windows and a countertop that extended partway in front of it and decided what I’d do.

I had taken several reference photos of Sally having a good bath in front of that window for “A Warm Bath”, and chose the pose I actually painted because you could still see Sally’s face, though she was looking down. Photographing a cat in the process of a bath, white or black or striped or spotted, was no easier then than it is now except that I didn’t know what I hadn’t caught until I had the photos developed. Most of the photos were when Sally had her back turned, but in this case, in the more upright posture, she appeared to be looking out the window, also typical of her and other cats positioned on such a shelf in front of a picture window. The cat looking out the window in the first painting would also lend the idea that you were looking out the window at all the landscapes.

To add to the interior I decided to use another detail that may look familiar to some regular readers of The Creative Cat, the draped lace curtain from the window on the second floor landing of my house. It’s quite clear in several of the photos I posted from 1994 as well as many photos of cats today, literally. In part I chose it for its own pattern and the natural appearance of a lace curtain next to a window, and also to balance the detail and pattern in the landscape outside the window.

Fawn on the windowsill with the lace curtain.

Fawn on the windowsill with the lace curtain.

I was glad to draw Sally’s dreamy white fur again as well as the sun and shadow on the wall inside the window, and looked forward to the lace curtain because I’d not painted one before and had been looking for a reason to add one to a painting, determining how much detail I’d actually include and how I’d do it in pastel.

 "Spring" detail of cat and curtain; sorry for the poor resolution if you are seeing this 1000 pixels wide.

“Spring” detail of cat and curtain; sorry for the poor resolution if you are seeing this 1000 pixels wide.

I apologize for the slight blur in the photos of this painting; it’s as clear and sharp as other finely detailed paintings I’ve done, and while I’ve been able to rephotograph older works by visiting the customer, because of the nature of this frame and the difficulty in handling it, we haven’t been able to do so yet. But reference “A Warm Bath”, above, for the style and level of detail.

For the landscape itself I remembered the layout of her yard and acreage, and collected some of my favorite photos of spring blooming gardens; in the end I toned down the rhododendrons and daffodils. But skies are one of my favorite daily studies, no matter the season; I could watch skies forever, the clouds moving, the changing light. Choosing the right moment of sky to paint into a landscape is a very serious choice for me, as you’ll see in looking at all four paintings in this series. In this painting of spring I chose a misty moment in early morning, it’s rained overnight, all is covered with raindrops and the mist is still rising, the clouds parting.

Here are the other three seasons in order, “Summer”, “Autumn” and “Winter”, and I’ll also point out a few correlations to the overall composition of the set a little later.

While “Spring” is based on the customer’s property, the other three are not only treasured landscapes but also have emotional ties to the cats in my life. “Summer” is an abandoned farm field on a high ridge which I passed regularly on the way to work each morning for six years, seen right after an early morning storm. I remember in the last few months Kublai was with me I hated to leave him every day and I would reach this portion of my drive and pause to look at this field with the morning unfolding above it, different each day, take a deep breath, and go on. The site was developed a few years later, but I still remember that each time I pass by it, even now.

"Summer", pastel, 12" x 24", 1997 © B.E. Kazmarski

“Summer”, pastel, 12″ x 24″, 1997 © B.E. Kazmarski

“Autumn” is a hay field with a rambling little stream and scrubby trees as autumn rain clouds roll in which I saw along a road and went to explore during that October after I’d lost both boys.

 "Autumn", pastel, 12" x 24", 1997 © B.E. Kazmarski

“Autumn”, pastel, 12″ x 24″, 1997 © B.E. Kazmarski

And “Winter” is a winter view of the friend’s family farm that I visited during that November to paint and find peace in the quiet of the empty fields and big open sky, the sound of the wind.

 "Winter", pastel, 12" x 24", 1997 © B.E. Kazmarski

“Winter”, pastel, 12″ x 24″, 1997 © B.E. Kazmarski

If you let your eye run from one to the next you’ll notice that the horizon line is consistent from one to the next, and the time of day is actually progressive with “Spring” being very early morning, “Summer” about noon, “Autumn” mid afternoon, and “Winter” at sunset. I had first considered actually having the seasons and times of day blend into one another, but decided the frame really wouldn’t accommodate that convincingly, instead letting the viewer’s eye fill in the connections. One of these days she and I will get together so I can take good updated photographs of all four seasons.

"The Four Seasons" © Bernadette E. Kazmarksi

“The Four Seasons” © Bernadette E. Kazmarksi


pastel portrait of two borzois

“Borzois”, pastel, 20″ x 26″ © Bernadette E. Kazmarski

This woman is also the one I’d painted the two portraits of the borzois, and while I have the one original of the one on the left and have taken a good clear photograph of it, I’d love to get the details of the other one as well.

portrait of two borzois

“Traveler and Emma”, pastel, 12″ x 21″ © Bernadette E. Kazmarski

Read articles on The Creative Cat featuring current and past commissioned portraits.

Read about how I create commissioned portraits.

 

SHIPPING

Shipping within the US is included in all the prices listed. All shipping is via Priority Mail. Prints are shipped flat in a rigid envelope. Canvases are shipped in a box to fit with padding. Since this original is small it is also shipped in a box with extra padding.

ORIGINAL PAINTING

The painting is 23″ x 16″, matted with a deep forest green watered silk acid-free mat edged with a dull gold rounded fillet, framed in a 2″ wood frame with two tones of antique silver edged with antique gold, outside edge finished in deep cherry mahogany.

GICLEE PRINTS

The giclees are printed on acid-free hot press art paper for a smooth matte finish using archival inks. Giclee is the highest quality print available because the technique uses a dozen or more ink ports to capture all the nuances of the original painting, including details of the texture, far more sensitive than any other printing medium. Sometimes my giclees look so much like my originals that even I have a difficult time telling them apart when they are in frames. The giclees have 2″ of white around the outside edges.

I don’t keep giclee prints in stock for most of my works. Usually I have giclees printed as they are ordered unless I have an exhibit where I’ll be selling a particular print so there is a wait of up to two weeks before receipt of your print to allow for time to print and ship.

DIGITAL PRINTS

Digital prints are made on acid-free matte-finish natural white 100# cover using archival digital inks. While digital prints are not the quality of a giclee in capturing every nuance and detail of color, texture and shading, I am still very pleased with the outcome and usually only I as the artist, could tell where detail and color were not as sharp as the original.

The 5″ x 7″ and 8″ x 10″ digital prints are centered on 8.5″ x 11″ digital cover while the 11″ x 14″ has 1″ around the edges because the digital paper is 12″ wide. All are countersigned by me.

CANVAS PRINTS

I usually have at least one of the smaller sizes of canvases on hand, but order larger ones as they are ordered here because customers often want a custom size. Smaller canvases are a 3/4″ in depth, Canvases 12 x 16 and larger are 1-1/2″ in depth. I set them up so the image runs from edge to edge, then the sides are black or white or sometimes I slip in a color that coordinates with the painting. This canvas is black on the sides.

MOUSEPADS

Mousepads are 8″ x 7″, always horizontal, 1/4″ black foam rubber with the image printed on a flexible fabric on top.

Other items with the same art or design To find all items on this site with the same art or design, use the search box for the name of the artwork and you'll find all that's available.

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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.

Landscape, “Birches 2: Radiance”[/ss_product]

ABOUT THE ARTWORK

We have lovely birch groves here in Western Pennsylvania, and this image was reminiscent of one I had encountered while walking through the woods somewhere near me. Not just the white bark, but the contrast with the thin dark twigs and ripples in the bark, is eye-catching, and that autumn display of yellow leaves is nearly blinding. Add a few other leaves to the mix and it becomes a classic autumn scene.

This painting is a real favorite in any color or size; I think viewers react to the details and the colors as I did when I saw the scene and visualized the painting.

The original is quite large, 22″ x 23″, and drawn in a very fine line black ink. I used a technical pen to draw all the details of the birch trees, taking nearly three weeks just to draw the trees. Even though I’d been visualizing it with the color added for the leaves, after all that work I was hesitant to start painting into the drawing for fear I’d mess it up and ruin all that work. But I got over that and began painting in the leaves in all shades of yellow, orange and red.

See also Birches 1: Autumn Showers.

Birches 1, Autumn Showers, oil pastel, 24.5 x 18, 1998 © Bernadette E. Kazmarski

Birches 1, Autumn Showers, oil pastel, 24.5 x 18, 1998 © Bernadette E. Kazmarski

SHIPPING AND CHARGES

Shipping within the US is included in the cost of each print.

Prints up to 16″ x 20″ are shipped flat in a rigid envelope. Larger prints are shipped rolled in a mailing tube unless otherwise requested; flat shipping is an extra cost because it’s oversized.

GICLEE PRINTS

The giclees are printed on acid-free hot press art paper for a smooth matte finish using archival inks. Giclee is the highest quality print available because the technique uses a dozen or more ink ports to capture all the nuances of the original painting, including details of the texture, far more sensitive than any other printing medium. Sometimes my giclees look so much like my originals that even I have a difficult time telling them apart when they are in frames.

I don’t keep giclee prints in stock for most of my works. Usually I have giclees printed as they are ordered unless I have an exhibit where I’ll be selling a particular print so there is a wait of up to two weeks before receipt of your print to allow for time to print and ship.

DIGITAL PRINTS

Digital prints are made on acid-free matte-finish natural white 100# cover using archival digital inks. While digital prints are not the quality of a giclee in capturing every nuance and detail of color, texture and shading, I am still very pleased with the outcome and usually only I as the artist, could tell where detail and color were not as sharp as the original. Digital prints are only available up to 11″ x 17″ and some of the prints are cropped to fit standard mat and frame sizes.

Digital prints have at least 1/2″ around the edges depending on the size of the print. All are countersigned by me.

CANVAS PRINTS

Because the standard size canvas prints are not proportional to the original painting, canvas prints of this painting will have a portion cropped off.

I usually have at least one of the smaller sizes of canvases on hand, but order larger ones as they are ordered because I have limited storage space. Smaller canvases are a 3/4″ in depth, Canvases 12 x 16 and larger are 1-1/2″ in depth. I set them up so the image runs from edge to edge, then the sides are black or white or sometimes I slip in a color that coordinates with the painting. This canvas is black around the sides.

FRAMED PRINTS

I do all my own framing and can custom frame a print for you. Please ask.

Serenity-detail2
Serenity, pastel, 5 x 20, 1998 © Bernadette E. Kazmarski

Serenity, pastel, 5 x 20, 1998 © Bernadette E. Kazmarski

This is a signed digital print of an original painting, “Serenity”, pastel, that’s 5 x 20, just a long which I painted to fit a frame I recycled.



ABOUT THE ARTWORK

This sailboat drifted lazily for hours on the calm waters of Lake Arthur in Western Pennsylvania. As the August afternoon tended toward evening, the sky began to grow pink and the shadows darkened and lengthened, and the serene moment seemed to last for hours.

Painted en plein air as I sat on one of the beaches at the north end of the lake, watching this sailboat was one of my favorite afternoons; this painting always takes me back to that day.

Because of the odd size of this painting, the only reasonable reproduction is a giclee or a digital print, but I also offer custom framing.

Framed print

I use a white mat with a plain square 1″ pine frame in the sample above. Other mat and frame choices may cost more.

SHIPPING AND CHARGES

Shipping within the US is included in the cost of each print.

Prints up to 16″ x 20″ are shipped flat in a rigid envelope. Larger prints are shipped rolled in a mailing tube unless otherwise requested; flat shipping is an extra cost because it’s oversized.

Sleeping Beauty note card on cream cotton cover from "Feline Pencil Sketches"

These cards are 4-1/4″ x 5-1/2″ with matching envelopes, blank inside. Cards are printed in soy-based ink on 25% cotton fiber stock with a 35% recycled content. In addition, the paper was manufactured in the USA using windpower using no bleach from trees in a managed woodlot. Can’t get much cleaner than that.

They are available in sets of 9 as described below. Sets of individual images or different combinations are available on request.



  • Cards are also available individually for custom quantities or sets.
  • Cards are blank inside but can be customized with your message for an extra charge.
  • “Feline Pencil Sketches” cards do not assort with any other cards .
  • Price includes shipping via First Class or Priority Mail.

Feline Sketches insert.qxd

ABOUT THE CARDS, THE CATS AND THE ARTWORK

My ever-inspiring family of felines causes me to carry both my camera and a sketch pad around the house. Quick, simple pencil sketches catch them hanging around the house and are my favorite warm-up to creating larger pieces of artwork. While I could live three lifetimes and never be finished with the images I can create from my group, friends also give me photos that are too good to pass up. Pencil can be challenging to reproduce, and I’m happy to introduce a new series in addition to my pen and ink and my full-color fine art notecards series.

 

Columbines

“In the Garden” cards features eight of my favorite paintings of gardens and still lifes, many of them scenes from my own yard and home. Cards have no message on the front and are blank inside but can be customized inside with your message. They are 5″ x 7″ , printed on 12 or 14 pt. card stock and include a matching envelope.

[ss_product id=’3bd73552-e589-11e5-a44b-0cc47a075d76′ ]In the Garden, Columbines[/ss_product]

  • Cards are blank inside but can be customized with your message for an extra charge.
  • In the Garden cards assort with all other 5″ x 7″ greeting cards (except custom printed cards) for a quantity discount.
  • Price includes shipping via Priority Mail.

ABOUT THE ARTWORK

Columbines

Another piece borne of January inspiration in my seed and flower catalogs, this little bunch of columbines was so joyful that it stayed with me. One of my favorite flowers, it is also a favorite of my mother, and I gave this painting to her as a birthday present one year. She has since passed away and I’ve sold her home, and kept the artwork I’d done. I sold the original to a good friend to give to her mother but this image will always remind me of her.

You’ll also find many of these images in my “Fine Art and Portraiture” galleries if you’d like a print. Often customers purchase a greeting card just to frame as well.

The Garden Gate

“In the Garden” cards features eight of my favorite paintings of gardens and still lifes, many of them scenes from my own yard and home. Cards have no message on the front and are blank inside but can be customized inside with your message. They are 5″ x 7″ , printed on 12 or 14 pt. card stock and include a matching envelope.

[ss_product id=’1e5ecc24-e589-11e5-a150-0cc47a075d76′ ]In the Garden, Garden Gate[/ss_product]

  • Cards are blank inside but can be customized with your message for an extra charge.
  • In the Garden cards assort with all other 5″ x 7″ greeting cards (except custom printed cards) for a quantity discount.
  • Price includes shipping via Priority Mail.

ABOUT THE ARTWORK

The Garden Gate

If I can’t have it in my yard, at least I can paint it. The arbor sporting ivy, the old azalea crowning the entrance and the gate, mysteriously left ajar and leading to a stone path to another part of the garden. This was inspired by seed catalogs, magazines and photos of others’ gardens.

You’ll also find many of these images in my “Fine Art and Portraiture” galleries if you’d like a print. Often customers purchase a greeting card just to frame as well.

Red Climbers

“In the Garden” cards features eight of my favorite paintings of gardens and still lifes, many of them scenes from my own yard and home. Cards have no message on the front and are blank inside but can be customized inside with your message. They are 5″ x 7″ , printed on 12 or 14 pt. card stock and include a matching envelope.

[ss_product id=’93cdbf9c-e589-11e5-95f7-0cc47a075d76′ ]In the Garden, Red Climbers[/ss_product]

  • Cards are blank inside but can be customized with your message for an extra charge.
  • In the Garden cards assort with all other 5″ x 7″ greeting cards (except custom printed cards) for a quantity discount.
  • Price includes shipping via Priority Mail.

ABOUT THE ARTWORK

Red Climbers

This photo reminded me of my mother’s climbing red roses which grew up a trellis on the side of the house. These roses have always fascinated me because they just keep going—up the fence, over the fence, down the other side. As a watercolor it was pure pleasure, with enough color, light and shadow and shape for it to be interesting.

You’ll also find many of these images in my “Fine Art and Portraiture” galleries if you’d like a print. Often customers purchase a greeting card just to frame as well.

Tea for Tulips, watercolor, 12 x 16 © Bernadette E. Kazmarski

“In the Garden” cards features eight of my favorite paintings of gardens and still lifes, many of them scenes from my own yard and home. Cards have no message on the front and are blank inside but can be customized inside with your message. They are 5″ x 7″ , printed on 12 or 14 pt. card stock and include a matching envelope.

[ss_product id=’af61b38a-e589-11e5-83b1-0cc47a075d76′ ]In the Garden, Tea for Tulips[/ss_product]

  • Cards are blank inside but can be customized with your message for an extra charge.
  • In the Garden cards assort with all other 5″ x 7″ greeting cards (except custom printed cards) for a quantity discount.
  • Price includes shipping via Priority Mail.

ABOUT THE ARTWORK

Tea for Tulips

I knew I’d love to paint the tulips, but I really needed to learn to paint the rust on the teapot. I intentionally kept the background vague and loose in shades of green and neutral tones to complement the brilliant reds, oranges and yellows and extreme detail in each of the tulips. The frothy white curtain, minimally worked, rests atop the flowers as if a spring breeze from the open window has whipped it up and gracefully placed it there.

You’ll also find many of these images in my “Fine Art and Portraiture” galleries if you’d like a print. Often customers purchase a greeting card just to frame as well.

A Warm Bath, pastel, 12″ x 10″, 1997 © Bernadette E. Kazmarski

This is a pastel painting, “A Warm Bath”, pastel, 12″ x 10″, 1997 © Bernadette E. Kazmarski.



About the painting

I chose this pose because you could still see Sally’s face, though she was looking down, and there is something I love about a cat’s face at that angle, the soft forehead, the nose, the whiskers sprouting here and there.

This painting sold in the days before I took adequate photos, and though I’ve been working on getting an image of the original I just have to live with this for now, so I don’t have any closeups. Still, this is the painting where I remember the feeling of “fingerpainting” for the first time, applying layers and colors of pastel, them mixing them with my fingertips and knuckles, the sides of my hands, both hands, a different color in each area. It was because I looked at the fur on Sally’s head in the reference photo and imagined digging my fingers into it to scratch the top of her head, which she loved, and I did my best to make the top of her head make me, and you, want to do that, even to feel it. The bright pink of her ear, the cool and warm highlights in her fur, it was all I could do to focus on one area to work it out completely.

Then there were the long angled shadows from the metal muntins in the windows, on the wall and book case and on Sally, the white-painted stucco wall, and the dappled side yard outside the window. I’m still very pleased with this painting, and even if I painted it today I may do some things differently, but I don’t think I could improve on this.

About Sally

The little deaf cat who began her life with me as a distant and defensive, emotionally neglected one-year-old grew into one of my greatest friends through our fourteen years together. A “pet quality” Angora kitten, she’d been adopted for her looks, the perennial kitten face, silky white fur, petite size. Not all white cats are deaf, but most Turkish Angora cats turn out to be, and the person who “bred” her didn’t warn the adopting party. The person who adopted her truly loved her, but between her high activity level and eventual deafness, and his schedule of being out most of every day, she became a little wild child, unaccustomed to being handled in any way. I heard later that Angora kitties are known for being physically combative and don’t necessarily like to be touched, but when I adopted Sally I thought it was just her youth and kittenhood that had influenced her personality.

This was very early in my rescue career; I had two cats, believe it or not, my first cat, gray and white Bootsie, and my first cat adopted as an adult, solid black Kublai. Sally was cat number three.

Read more about my beautiful whipped cream kitty in “My First “Less Adoptable” Kitty”.

Purchasing prints

This painting is included on one set of cards, “My Cat in the Sun”.

SHIPPING

Shipping within the US is included in all the prices listed. All shipping is via Priority Mail. Prints are shipped flat in a rigid envelope. Canvases are shipped in a box to fit with padding. Since this original is small it is also shipped in a box with extra padding.

GICLEE PRINTS

The giclees are printed on acid-free hot press art paper for a smooth matte finish using archival inks. Giclee is the highest quality print available because the technique uses a dozen or more ink ports to capture all the nuances of the original painting, including details of the texture, far more sensitive than any other printing medium. Sometimes my giclees look so much like my originals that even I have a difficult time telling them apart when they are in frames. The giclees have 2″ of white around the outside edges.

I don’t keep giclee prints in stock for most of my works. Usually I have giclees printed as they are ordered unless I have an exhibit where I’ll be selling a particular print so there is a wait of up to two weeks before receipt of your print to allow for time to print and ship.

DIGITAL PRINTS

Digital prints are made on acid-free matte-finish natural white 100# cover using archival digital inks. While digital prints are not the quality of a giclee in capturing every nuance and detail of color, texture and shading, I am still very pleased with the outcome and usually only I as the artist, could tell where detail and color were not as sharp as the original.

The 5″ x 7″ and 8″ x 10″ digital prints are centered on 8.5″ x 11″ digital cover while the 11″ x 14″ has 1″ around the edges because the digital paper is 12″ wide. All are countersigned by me.

CANVAS PRINTS

I usually have at least one of the smaller sizes of canvases on hand, but order larger ones as they are ordered here because customers often want a custom size. Smaller canvases are a 3/4″ in depth, Canvases 12 x 16 and larger are 1-1/2″ in depth. I set them up so the image runs from edge to edge, then the sides are black or white or sometimes I slip in a color that coordinates with the painting. This canvas is black on the sides.

MOUSEPADS

Mousepads are 8″ x 7″, always horizontal, 1/4″ black foam rubber with the image printed on a flexible fabric on top.

 

“After Dinner Nap”, pastel on Hahnemuhle sanded watercolor paper, 1997 © Bernadette E. Kazmarski

This is a pastel painting, “After Dinner Nap”, pastel on Hahnemuhle sanded watercolor paper, 1997 © Bernadette E. Kazmarski

[ss_product id=’eae7c3da-e5a8-11e5-a5a8-0cc47a075d76′ ]Feline Artwork “After Dinner Nap”[/ss_product]

About the painting, and Stanley

“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.

I decided that my whole relationship with Stanley and this painting is too significant a part of my career to change it.

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.

Purchasing prints

This painting is included on one set of cards, “My Cat in the Sun”.

SHIPPING

Shipping within the US is included in all the prices listed. All shipping is via Priority Mail. Prints are shipped flat in a rigid envelope. Canvases are shipped in a box to fit with padding. Since this original is small it is also shipped in a box with extra padding.

GICLEE PRINTS

The giclees are printed on acid-free hot press art paper for a smooth matte finish using archival inks. Giclee is the highest quality print available because the technique uses a dozen or more ink ports to capture all the nuances of the original painting, including details of the texture, far more sensitive than any other printing medium. Sometimes my giclees look so much like my originals that even I have a difficult time telling them apart when they are in frames. The giclees have 2″ of white around the outside edges.

I don’t keep giclee prints in stock for most of my works. Usually I have giclees printed as they are ordered unless I have an exhibit where I’ll be selling a particular print so there is a wait of up to two weeks before receipt of your print to allow for time to print and ship.

DIGITAL PRINTS

Digital prints are made on acid-free matte-finish natural white 100# cover using archival digital inks. While digital prints are not the quality of a giclee in capturing every nuance and detail of color, texture and shading, I am still very pleased with the outcome and usually only I as the artist, could tell where detail and color were not as sharp as the original.

The 5″ x 7″ and 8″ x 10″ digital prints are centered on 8.5″ x 11″ digital cover while the 11″ x 14″ has 1″ around the edges because the digital paper is 12″ wide. All are countersigned by me.

CANVAS PRINTS

I usually have at least one of the smaller sizes of canvases on hand, but order larger ones as they are ordered here because customers often want a custom size. Smaller canvases are a 3/4″ in depth, Canvases 12 x 16 and larger are 1-1/2″ in depth. I set them up so the image runs from edge to edge, then the sides are black or white or sometimes I slip in a color that coordinates with the painting. This canvas is black on the sides.

MOUSEPADS

Mousepads are 8″ x 7″, always horizontal, 1/4″ black foam rubber with the image printed on a flexible fabric on top.

 

Some of these images date back to the very beginnings of my belief in myself as an artist, some are fine, some are not good representations, some I still have. All are dear to me.

I am adding my exhibit pages as time permits. Visit “Exhibits” for a list of all of my solo exhibits to date.
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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.