Feline-themed Card Sets and Note Cards

I often see a theme in art I’m creating and either gather together four images or intentionally create images that fit together as a set. Two of these sets range all the way back to my beginnings as an artist, before four-color printing, patterned on the note cards I’d seen growing up.

Notecards come in three smaller sizes and on different stocks, some are full color and some are black and white, some are hand-printed. All are blank inside and include a matching envelope. They do not assort with other cards.

Greeting Cards are 5″ x 7″ unless otherwise noted, printed on 12 or 14 pt. card stock and include a matching envelope.

 

Feline Note Cards

"Mewsette's Blue Nap" note card.

Mewsette’s Blue Nap Note Cards are 4.25″ x 5.5″ printed on natural toned textured paper with a matching envelope.

  • Cards are blank inside.
  • These cards do not assort with any other cards.
  • Individual cards ship via USPS First Class so there is no tracking.
  • Sets ship via USPS Parcel.

ABOUT THE ART

"Purple Nap", indigo watercolor on watercolor paper, 6" x 4.25" © Bernadette E. Kazmarski

“Purple Nap”, indigo watercolor on watercolor paper, 6″ x 4.25″ © Bernadette E. Kazmarski

“Mewsette’s Blue Nap” is a loose watercolor I painted in indigo blue and is printed on textured paper. When I paint them I cover the paper in more or less her silhouette, leaving little gaps of white and adding heavier coverage where there are shadows. Then I work into the silhouette while wet for the mid range tones, let it dry until it is still damp, them add the darkest areas. Sometimes I’ll use a wet brush with just water to pull the lightest areas out if they’ve accidentally been covered over, but I like to let the water flow where it will and not force it around too much.

You can also purchase a print of the sketch in my Daily Sketches gallery. Find more feline-inspired note cards and greeting cards.

EVER WONDER WHAT MY CATS THINK OF HOW I PAINT THEM?

purple watercolor of cat sleeping

“Purple Nap”, indigo watercolor on watercolor paper, 6″ x 4.25″ © Bernadette E. Kazmarski

This is Mewsette going about being Mewsette on my bed. I actually started four paintings of her, but just after beginning two of them certain brothers decided they would rather I paint a wrestling match, though Mewsette was not in the mood for that. Finally I distracted them and painted a quick bath, below, then the one of her resting, above.

These are watercolors, and when I paint them I cover the paper in more or less her silhouette, leaving little gaps of white and adding heavier coverage where there are shadows. Then I work into the silhouette while wet for the mid range tones, let it dry until it is still damp, then add the darkest areas. Sometimes I’ll use a wet brush with just water to pull the lightest areas out if they’ve accidentally been covered over, but I like to let the water flow where it will and not force it around too much.

There are areas in both that I don’t like, but overall, I like them both.

I liked “Purple Nap”, or “Blue Nap” as it turned out to be so much that I had note cards made of it and called it “Mewsette’s Blue Bath”.

watercolor of cat bathing

“Purple Bath”, indigo watercolor on watercolor paper, 4.5″ x 5.25″ © Bernadette E. Kazmarski

. . . . . . .

Mewsette and Giuseppe Review Sketches

Mewsette takes a sidelong glance at my paintings of her, trying to be polite.

Mewsette takes a sidelong glance at my paintings of her, trying to be polite.

What do I think of these? These are sketches of me?

Oh, please.

Oh, please...don't show that to anyone. I don't look like that.

Oh, please…don’t show that to anyone. I don’t look like that.

Mewsette takes a look at a few quick watercolor sketches I did of her the other night and lets me know what she thinks. In my defense, these were the two that were interrupted by playful brothers, so they are barely even begun. But kitties have their opinions, including Giuseppe.

Giuseppe gives his opinion of my work.

Giuseppe gives his opinion of my work.

And you call yourself an artist?

The paint water got more attention than my paintings.

Mewsette inspects the shelf and Giuseppe considers tasting the paint water. The paintings are ignored.

Mewsette inspects the shelf and Giuseppe considers tasting the paint water. The paintings are ignored.

Perhaps I’ll see if these brushes have anything more interesting to offer.

Mewsette checks the brushes for signs of interesting things.

Mewsette checks the brushes for signs of interesting things.

*Sigh.*

The life of an artist’s model. Everyone thinks it’s glamorous, risqué, naughty, even indecent, but when the artist is your human mom, and she’s more interested in experimenting, it’s just, well…it makes me very sleepy.

Mewsette's views on being an artist's model.

Mewsette’s views on being an artist’s model.

Human art critics have nothing on cats. At least they don’t sleep on your paintings.

DAILY SKETCHES

I endeavor to do at least a small sketch each day as a warm-up to my aesthetic senses, so I have a small pouch of art materials and a few various sized sketchbooks available in the house and out. Usually, these are done in pencil, my first and favorite medium, though sometimes it’s charcoal, ink, colored pencil, ink and brush, whatever strikes my fancy at the moment, the greatest challenge to keep it quick and not get caught up in details, let the idea flow onto the paper.

Most often, the subjects are my cats because they are such willing models, though sometimes I’ll also wander afield, literally, and sketch in my yard or anywhere I go for errands. Medium and especially style vary just so I get a chance to do something new.

Every once in a while, they are meant for framing, and I’ve designed a series of notecards, notepaper and notepads using other daily sketches. Often I use them as illustrations for graphics projects I’m designing.

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.

Flourish-darkgray-100Don’t miss any new items or opportunities!

“Follow” the Portraits of Animals blog with the link in the upper left. Sign up to receive posts in email, or in your favorite reader using the links in the right-hand column.

Sign up for e-newsletters

You can also sign up for my monthly e-newsletters to receive special discounts and find out where I’ll be with my artwork.

Click here for the Creative Cat Preview E-newsletter, for feline and animal-specific products and information.

Click here for the Art & Merchandise E-newsletter, for landscapes, nature, urban scenes and more.

For art, photos and writing as I develop it, visit my blogs.

See feline art and photos as they happen on The Creative Cat, along with feline news, health, welfare, rescue stories and more.

See daily photos as I post them on Today.

Read poetry, short stories, essays and more on Paths I Have Walked.

. . . . . . .

© 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.

"Winter Cats", watercolor, 10" x 6" © B.E. Kazmarski

Winter Light Note Cards are 4.25″ x 5.5″ printed on natural toned textured paper with a matching envelope.



  • Cards are blank inside.
  • These cards do not assort with any other cards.
  • Individual cards ship via USPS First Class so there is no tracking.
  • Sets ship via USPS Parcel.

ABOUT THE ART

"Winter Cats", watercolor, 10" x 6" © B.E. Kazmarski

“Winter Cats”, watercolor, 10″ x 6″ © B.E. Kazmarski

“Winter Light” is a monochromatic watercolor I painted in indigo blue. Looking at Mr. Sunshine’s graceful curve and watching the fluid motion of his bath I decided only watercolor would do. He and Jelly Bean were so cozy on the table by the window I knew they’d be there for a while and I could at least get a start, which I did, blocking them in as best I could. Even though Mr. Sunshine finished his bath and totally changed position I still finished the painting in one session. Bean was happily sleeping, sketching him is usually pretty easy.

You can also purchase a print of the sketch in my Daily Sketches gallery. Find more feline-inspired note cards and greeting cards.

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.

Flourish-darkgray-100Don’t miss any new items or opportunities!

“Follow” the Portraits of Animals blog with the link in the upper left. Sign up to receive posts in email, or in your favorite reader using the links in the right-hand column.

Sign up for e-newsletters

You can also sign up for my monthly e-newsletters to receive special discounts and find out where I’ll be with my artwork.

Click here for the Creative Cat Preview E-newsletter, for feline and animal-specific products and information.

Click here for the Art & Merchandise E-newsletter, for landscapes, nature, urban scenes and more.

For art, photos and writing as I develop it, visit my blogs.

See feline art and photos as they happen on The Creative Cat, along with feline news, health, welfare, rescue stories and more.

See daily photos as I post them on Today.

Read poetry, short stories, essays and more on Paths I Have Walked.

. . . . . . .

© 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.

“Mewsette Watercolors”, watercolor, 6″ x 9″ © Bernadette E. Kazmarski

Mewsette Watercolors Note Cards Note Cards are 4.25″ x 5.5″ printed on natural toned textured paper with a matching envelope.

  • Cards are blank inside.
  • These cards do not assort with any other cards.
  • Individual cards ship via USPS First Class so there is no tracking.
  • Sets ship via USPS Parcel.


ABOUT THE ART

“Mewsette Watercolors”, watercolor, 6″ x 9″ © Bernadette E. Kazmarski

“Mewsette Watercolors”, watercolor, 6″ x 9″ © Bernadette E. Kazmarski

Who said black cats had to be painted in black? What a wonderful gift these silhouettes gave me, letting me let go of representational color and pattern and rendering them intuitively. Mewsette is a happy, warm kitty on a cold winter day, toasting herself in front of the furnace vent, and this is how I felt about it.

You can also purchase a print of the sketch in my Daily Sketches gallery. Find more feline-inspired note cards and greeting cards.

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.

Flourish-darkgray-100Don’t miss any new items or opportunities!

“Follow” the Portraits of Animals blog with the link in the upper left. Sign up to receive posts in email, or in your favorite reader using the links in the right-hand column.

Sign up for e-newsletters

You can also sign up for my monthly e-newsletters to receive special discounts and find out where I’ll be with my artwork.

Click here for the Creative Cat Preview E-newsletter, for feline and animal-specific products and information.

Click here for the Art & Merchandise E-newsletter, for landscapes, nature, urban scenes and more.

For art, photos and writing as I develop it, visit my blogs.

See feline art and photos as they happen on The Creative Cat, along with feline news, health, welfare, rescue stories and more.

See daily photos as I post them on Today.

Read poetry, short stories, essays and more on Paths I Have Walked.

. . . . . . .

© 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.

"Leaves and Shadows", watercolor, 5" x 7" © Bernadette E. Kazmarski

Leaves and Shadows Note Cards are 4.25″ x 5.5″ printed on natural toned textured paper with a matching envelope.



  • Cards are blank inside.
  • These cards do not assort with any other cards.
  • Individual cards ship via USPS First Class so there is no tracking.
  • Sets ship via USPS Parcel.

ABOUT THE ART

"Leaves and Shadows", watercolor, 5" x 7" © Bernadette E. Kazmarski

“Leaves and Shadows”, watercolor, 5″ x 7″ © Bernadette E. Kazmarski

Here I’m trying to catch my impression of Jelly Bean on the table by Cat TV, where the leaves from the lilac flutter and the sun comes in at an angle, a little bit of leaf patterning and shadows. The scene itself is actually much darker than this but I wanted to capture the sense of light so I used the transparency of watercolor to its best ability. Bean is napping, and facing away from the window his face is in shadow while his back disappears in highlight.

You can also purchase a print of the sketch in my Daily Sketches gallery. Find more feline-inspired note cards and greeting cards.

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.

Flourish-darkgray-100Don’t miss any new items or opportunities!

“Follow” the Portraits of Animals blog with the link in the upper left. Sign up to receive posts in email, or in your favorite reader using the links in the right-hand column.

Sign up for e-newsletters

You can also sign up for my monthly e-newsletters to receive special discounts and find out where I’ll be with my artwork.

Click here for the Creative Cat Preview E-newsletter, for feline and animal-specific products and information.

Click here for the Art & Merchandise E-newsletter, for landscapes, nature, urban scenes and more.

For art, photos and writing as I develop it, visit my blogs.

See feline art and photos as they happen on The Creative Cat, along with feline news, health, welfare, rescue stories and more.

See daily photos as I post them on Today.

Read poetry, short stories, essays and more on Paths I Have Walked.

. . . . . . .

© 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.

Watercolor Cats Note Cards Set

Watercolor Cats Note Cards includes four small watercolors in a similar style. Cards are 4.25″ x 5.5″ printed on natural toned textured paper with a matching envelope.

  • Available in a set of four, one of each design, or a dozen, three of each design or choose a custom dozen.
  • Cards are blank inside.
  • These cards do not assort with any other cards.
  • Price includes shipping via First Class, Parcel.
  • Cards are available individually under their individual listings.

Shipping is included in all prices listed.



About the artwork

Watercolor Cats Note Cards Set

Watercolor Cats Note Cards Set

I gathered four similar small watercolor paintings into a set. While I have many other watercolors, these paintings are a subject on an open background, more abstract and experimental. The image is without geometric boundaries and can be sized in any way it fits on a card or other background. They come from my collection of Daily Sketches, a three-year period during which I painted my cats nearly every day in a huge variety of media, just a quick sketch, no masterpieces, finding the inspiration and capturing the moment.

Below are the images and design names. If you’d like a custom dozen, just list the designs and quantity you’d like to add up to a dozen cards.

Each of these note cards is available individually in its own post under Feline-themed Sets and Note Cards

Create a gift set

Also, you can make up a gift set: each of these paintings is available as a print on paper or canvas, print only or matted and framed, and in many cases I have used these images on gift items in my Handmade Gift Gallery such as tiles, keepsake dishes, refrigerator magnets, and more. If you’d like to explore more, use the search box at the bottom of the page and search the title of the image.

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.

Flourish-darkgray-100Don’t miss any new items or opportunities!

“Follow” the Portraits of Animals blog with the link in the upper left. Sign up to receive posts in email, or in your favorite reader using the links in the right-hand column.

Sign up for e-newsletters

You can also sign up for my monthly e-newsletters to receive special discounts and find out where I’ll be with my artwork.

Click here for the Creative Cat Preview E-newsletter, for feline and animal-specific products and information.

Click here for the Art & Merchandise E-newsletter, for landscapes, nature, urban scenes and more.

For art, photos and writing as I develop it, visit my blogs.

See feline art and photos as they happen on The Creative Cat, along with feline news, health, welfare, rescue stories and more.

See daily photos as I post them on Today.

Read poetry, short stories, essays and more on Paths I Have Walked.

. . . . . . .

© 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.

Saturday Morning Cartoons, set of four.

This set of A2 note cards includes four cartoons inspired by awakening with cats.

If you prefer one design instead of all four, choose it in the second drop-down, otherwise you don’t need to choose a design.



  • 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.
  • These cards do not assort with any other cards.
  • Price includes shipping via First Class, Parcel or Priority Mail depending on quantity.

Shipping is included in all prices listed.

ABOUT THE ART

Each of these is available individually. Click the title to find the post about the individual cartoon. These are also available as prints individually and as a set.

PURRING POINTS

It’s a wonder I get out of bed with treatment like this.

Every healing discipline has its healing points on the body. My cats certainly know mine.

I sleep on my stomach, and when I awoke I could feel them all lined up on me from top to bottom. Because I had shifted slightly when I awoke they each began purring, but no one moved to get up, only curled tighter for the moment. I visualized this, much as I had my other “awake” cartoons as I was lying there, falling back to sleep from all that purring.

CWA-BADGE_BlackCertExcellence

Winner of a 2014 Certificate of Excellence by the Cat Writers’ Association.

Click here to read more about this contest and the awards.

 

SATURDAY MORNING

“Don’t act like you’re dead. We know dead things. We’re cats.”

Yeah, this is pretty much what I saw when I woke up this morning. I may have slept a little later than usual, but not by much. I could only see two over the edge of the covers, Giuseppe’s ears and Mr. Sunshine’s baleful eye, but I could feel that all five were there. And they were sitting very still and watching me.

But they did catch me in the act of trying to fool them. The two are so cute at trying to pull the covers off me and digging me out that I confess I lie there pretending to be asleep just to enjoy all the effort they put into getting me out of bed! First, though, I thought, “That would make an interesting piece of artwork. How should I do it?” Then, because it can sometimes take me years to get to ideas like the more realistic view I was considering, I decided a sketch would be immediate gratification, and possibly the best way to render it. I took notes with my eyes at what it all looked like, and drew it later in the day.

CWA-BADGE_BlackCertExcellence

Winner of a 2014 Certificate of Excellence by the Cat Writers’ Association.

Click here to read more about this contest and the awards.

BEING USED AS A FORT

The full title is “I realized upon awakening that I was being used as a fort”.

So this is a daily sketch of something that happened, but it was not done in real time as I visualized it, truly, upon awakening, when I really was being used as a fort. I’m not sure exactly which were who, but I know it was the boys and Bean was the one peering over my hip. Likely the one delivering the swat was Giuseppe, he’s like that.

I’ve always wanted to do these little cartoons that occur to me now and then, well, probably more often than now and then. There are a few ideas that are several years old, and I think I’ll start working them up. (And so I did!)

FELINE PUNCTUATION

Another one of those visualizations as I awoke today. I could feel cats tucked up against me all around, two on one side, two on the other, and one at my feet. They tend to trade places so I wasn’t sure who was where, but of course they are all black, and as I laid there, face in my pillow, trying to determine which was who, I could picture them black against the white bedspread, and then as quotation marks on either side of me, and a period by my feet.

So here it is, not sure if it works visually, but this is pretty much what I visualized.

ORDERING INFORMATION

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.

GREETING CARDS AND NOTE CARDS

Set includes four cards. All cards are printed on 100# white matte-finish card stock and include matching white envelopes. Discounts are available for multiple sets. Please see individual entries to purchase individual cards or sets of individual designs.

DAILY SKETCHES

I endeavor to do at least a small sketch each day as a warm-up to my aesthetic senses, so I have a small pouch of art materials and a few various sized sketchbooks available in the house and out. Usually, these are done in pencil, my first and favorite medium, though sometimes it’s charcoal, ink, colored pencil, ink and brush, whatever strikes my fancy at the moment, the greatest challenge to keep it quick and not get caught up in details, let the idea flow onto the paper.

Most often, the subjects are my cats because they are such willing models, though sometimes I’ll also wander afield, literally, and sketch in my yard or anywhere I go for errands. Medium and especially style vary just so I get a chance to do something new.

Every once in a while, they are meant for framing, and I’ve designed a series of notecards, notepaper and notepads using other daily sketches. Often I use them as illustrations for graphics projects I’m designing.

Tabbies, a selection of colors.

These 4-1/4″ x 5-1/2″ note cards are hand-printed on over a dozen different paper colors in both pastel and bright tones of yellow, pink, orange, blue, green and violet, and five different ink colors, magenta, green, blue, orange and purple and each comes with a matching envelope. I printed them randomly just for fun, so I can’t guarantee a certain design or color combination.

Purchase cards

Cards are printed on smooth uncoated 70 lb. cover stock. On the back of all the cards I’ve printed the name of the series of block prints, my logo and my name and contact information. Each card comes with a matching 70 lb. text weight acid-free envelope which is inkjet/laser compatible.

As noted below, I can’t guarantee colors or color combinations, but please use the “Notes and Requests” box to describe colors or designs you do or don’t like and I’ll do my best to accommodate your request.

Shipping is included in the price. Individual cards are shipped by first class mail. All others are shipped as parcels.



 

Printing the cards

Meet my quality control team: Mewsette, Giuseppe and Jelly Bean inspect each card.

Meet my quality control team: Mewsette, Giuseppe and Jelly Bean inspect each card.

With a discerning quality control team like them, you know each card is purr-fect.

About the art: Tabbies Linoleum Block Prints

The stripes made me do it! No, we have not always been a household of solid-color cats. The clarity of tabby cat stripes as they outline a cat’s features and define its shape has always been an inspiration for more graphic designs beginning with Fawn, Stanley and Allegro.

These cards were block printed, a technique wherein the artist carves the surface of a piece of linoleum, leaving raised areas which will become the image. Ink is rolled onto these raised areas, then a piece of paper is pressed against the block and when it’s lifted away the ink remains, leaving the image on the paper.

These two designs are from a set of four, and have always had a sweet and cuddly feel to me. I’d always printed these in natural earth tones but have been planning to print them in bright colors on brightly-colored paper as well.

"These cats are all covered with funny markings," say the three perfect black cats. They are very serious about their job.

“These cats are all covered with funny markings,” say the three perfect black cats. They are very serious about their job.

I photographed the process as I printed these—of course, with feline supervision—and below you can see how block prints are made.

A little bit about block printing

I really enjoy working in this medium and I can free myself from the traditional media and a greater realism in rendering. Linoleum block printing is a technique wherein the artist carves the surface of a piece of artist’s linoleum, leaving raised areas which will become the image. Ink is rolled onto these raised areas, then a piece of paper is pressed against the block and when it’s lifted away the ink remains, leaving the image on the paper.

Despite the fact I’ve been trying to video a little block print demonstration, all I have are a few photos taken as I was printing the “Tabbies” cards for Valentine’s Day last year.

The resulting work isn’t a one-time thing, but meant to be printed multiple times–and I do, on just about anything I can think of. They all start out on paper, but they’ve been printed on t-shirts and dresses and aprons and curtains, to name a few things. I nearly always add color to The Tortie Girls with watercolor or dyes since that was part of the original design, and I’ll often add color to other designs to give them extra interest.

Because of the nature of the medium, each print is unique and ink coverage is not always perfect. Most artists consider this random activity to be part of the process of creating an individualized print, and along with the hand-painting makes a unique work of art.

Read The ARtist’s Life: About Linoleum Block Printing for a slide show of images and more information about the medium and about my block prints.

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.

Flourish-darkgray-100Don’t miss any new items or opportunities!

“Follow” the Portraits of Animals blog with the link in the upper left. Sign up to receive posts in email, or in your favorite reader using the links in the right-hand column.

Sign up for e-newsletters

You can also sign up for my monthly e-newsletters to receive special discounts and find out where I’ll be with my artwork.

Click here for the Creative Cat Preview E-newsletter, for feline and animal-specific products and information.

Click here for the Art & Merchandise E-newsletter, for landscapes, nature, urban scenes and more.

For art, photos and writing as I develop it, visit my blogs.

See feline art and photos as they happen on The Creative Cat, along with feline news, health, welfare, rescue stories and more.

See daily photos as I post them on Today.

Read poetry, short stories, essays and more on Paths I Have Walked.

. . . . . . .

© 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.

Inscrutable Patterns note card.

These A2 note cards are printed from a sketch I turned into a colorful design and are available with a variety of envelope colors. Shipping is included in the price.



Inscrutable Patterns note card.

Inscrutable Patterns note card.

  • 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.
  • These cards do not assort with any other cards.
  • Price includes shipping via First Class, Parcel or Priority Mail depending on quantity.
  • I pack each set with random envelope colors depending on availability. If you’d like a certain color or colors, please list them when you order.
Bella helps to position the envelopes.

Bella helps to position the envelopes.

ABOUT THE ART

detail of pattern

Detail of pattern.

“Inscrutable Patterns” began as an ink sketch of one of my cats, which I then took into my graphics program to colorize the art and lay out the pattern. They all look at me like this, but this is more patterned after Jelly Bean, who sat by the window atop a box so that his face and front body was entirely in a deep shadow. Resting, his eyes are slits, and sometimes he simply closes them and takes a nap, but sitting up. I looked at him and thought, “Inscrutable”, as his expression seemed to be, and actually was since I really had no idea what he might be thinking. Read more about the art and other daily sketches at: http://thecreativecat.net/daily-sketch-inscrutable-patterns.

DAILY SKETCHES

I endeavor to do at least a small sketch each day as a warm-up to my aesthetic senses, so I have a small pouch of art materials and a few various sized sketchbooks available in the house and out. Usually, these are done in pencil, my first and favorite medium, though sometimes it’s charcoal, ink, colored pencil, ink and brush, whatever strikes my fancy at the moment, the greatest challenge to keep it quick and not get caught up in details, let the idea flow onto the paper.

Most often, the subjects are my cats because they are such willing models, though sometimes I’ll also wander afield, literally, and sketch in my yard or anywhere I go for errands. Medium and especially style vary just so I get a chance to do something new.

Every once in a while, they are meant for framing, and I’ve designed a series of notecards, notepaper and notepads using other daily sketches. Often I use them as illustrations for graphics projects I’m designing.

Linoleum block-printed Valentine cards inspired by Valentine Candy hearts!
Linoleum block-printed Valentine cards inspired by Valentine Candy hearts!

Linoleum block-printed Valentine cards inspired by Valentine Candy hearts!

I usually print these little linocuts in earth tones or “tabby colors”, but I’ve been itching to use brights and pastels and all sorts of combinations with them. I decided they made cute valentines and that’s a great reason to create hand-printed cards in magenta on pink, violet, magenta and red card stock, embellished with magenta or purple stamp ink, just saturated with color for Valentine’s Day!

This set of 4-1/4″ x 5-1/2″ note cards features two designs combining my hand-cut block prints with commercial rubber stamps on smooth uncoated 70 lb. cover stock.

On the back of all the cards I’ve stamped in purple ink the name of the series of block prints, my logo and my name and contact information.

Each card comes with a matching 70 lb. text weight acid-free envelope which is inkjet/laser compatible. The set of four, eight or 12 is packed in a clear-top vinyl greeting card box.

Because these are handmade, I have a limited quantity of each card!

PINK, VIOLET AND MAGENTA CARDS

A single kitty entitled “Sunshine and Flowers” printed in magenta says “MEOW!” stamped in magenta with a commercial rubber stamp. Inside “You’re PURRRFECT” is stamped in magenta with a commercial rubber stamp. Two kitties cuddling for a bath say “You’re PURRRFECT” stamped in magenta with a commercial rubber stamp. Inside “MEOW!” is stamped in magenta with a commercial rubber stamp.

RED CARDS

A single kitty entitled “Sunshine and Flowers” printed in magenta says “MEOW!” stamped in purple with a commercial rubber stamp. Inside “You’re PURRRFECT” is stamped in purple with a commercial rubber stamp. Two kitties cuddling for a bath say “You’re PURRRFECT” stamped in purple with a commercial rubber stamp. Inside “MEOW!” is stamped in purple with a commercial rubber stamp.

I offer them as singles, in sets by color and design, and in sets of four and eight that include all four colors.

Purchase cards

Shipping is included in the price. Individual cards are shipped by first class mail. All others shipped as parcels.



Printing the cards

Meet my quality control team: Mewsette, Giuseppe and Jelly Bean inspect each card.

Meet my quality control team: Mewsette, Giuseppe and Jelly Bean inspect each card.

With a discerning quality control team like them, you know each card is purr-fect.

About the art: Tabbies Linoleum Block Prints

The stripes made me do it! No, we have not always been a household of solid-color cats. The clarity of tabby cat stripes as they outline a cat’s features and define its shape has always been an inspiration for more graphic designs beginning with Fawn, Stanley and Allegro.

These cards were block printed, a technique wherein the artist carves the surface of a piece of linoleum, leaving raised areas which will become the image. Ink is rolled onto these raised areas, then a piece of paper is pressed against the block and when it’s lifted away the ink remains, leaving the image on the paper.

These two designs are from a set of four, and have always had a sweet and cuddly feel to me. I’d always printed these in natural earth tones but have been planning to print them in bright colors on brightly-colored paper as well.

"These cats are all covered with funny markings," say the three perfect black cats. They are very serious about their job.

“These cats are all covered with funny markings,” say the three perfect black cats. They are very serious about their job.

I photographed the process as I printed these—of course, with feline supervision—and below you can see how block prints are made.

A little bit about block printing

I really enjoy working in this medium and I can free myself from the traditional media and a greater realism in rendering. Linoleum block printing is a technique wherein the artist carves the surface of a piece of artist’s linoleum, leaving raised areas which will become the image. Ink is rolled onto these raised areas, then a piece of paper is pressed against the block and when it’s lifted away the ink remains, leaving the image on the paper.

Here are a few photos taken as I was printing the “Tabbies” cards for Valentine’s Day.

The resulting work isn’t a one-time thing, but meant to be printed multiple times–and I do, on just about anything I can think of. They all start out on paper, but they’ve been printed on t-shirts and dresses and aprons and curtains, to name a few things. I often add color with watercolor or dyes to some prints since that was part of the original design.

Because of the nature of the medium, each print is unique and ink coverage is not always perfect. Most artists consider this random activity to be part of the process of creating an individualized print, and along with the hand-painting makes a unique work of art.

I published an article all about block printing on The Creative Cat.

My gallery of Hand-printed Art, Housewares and Apparel brings together all my hand-printed materials, and you can browse my Feline Linoleum Block Prints, Wildlife Linoleum Block Prints, and Hand-printed Cards.

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.

Flourish-darkgray-100Don’t miss any new items or opportunities!

“Follow” the Portraits of Animals blog with the link in the upper left. Sign up to receive posts in email, or in your favorite reader using the links in the right-hand column.

Sign up for e-newsletters

You can also sign up for my monthly e-newsletters to receive special discounts and find out where I’ll be with my artwork.

Click here for the Creative Cat Preview E-newsletter, for feline and animal-specific products and information.

Click here for the Art & Merchandise E-newsletter, for landscapes, nature, urban scenes and more.

For art, photos and writing as I develop it, visit my blogs.

See feline art and photos as they happen on The Creative Cat, along with feline news, health, welfare, rescue stories and more.

See daily photos as I post them on Today.

Read poetry, short stories, essays and more on Paths I Have Walked.

. . . . . . .

© 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.

Colorful Kitties note cards.

This card is 5.5″ x 4.25″ and printed on 100# acid-free uncoated cover stock, blank inside. They come with 70 lb. opaque acid-free envelopes that are inkjet/laser compatible in your choice of envelope color.



This note card was designed from one of my daily sketches and just lends itself to a variety of themes—friendship, thank you, thinking of you, even an invitation to an event.

Colorful Kitties note cards.

Colorful Kitties note cards.

  • 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.
  • These cards do not assort with any other cards.
  • Price includes shipping via First Class, Parcel or Priority Mail depending on quantity.
  • I pack each set with random envelope colors depending on availability. If you’d like a certain color or colors, please list them when you order.
Bella helps to position the envelopes.

Bella helps to position the envelopes.

Envelopes

Each card comes with your choice of a 70 lb. text weight acid-free envelope which is inkjet/laser compatible. You can further customize this by adding a note to your order with your choice of envelope colors, such as “Please send five white envelopes and one red envelope” with an order of a half-dozen cards.



Packaging

One and two cards are packed in a glassine bag, a half-dozen or more are packed in a clear resealable envelope.

About the Artwork

The original artwork for "Colorful Kitties".

The original artwork for “Colorful Kitties”.

“Colorful Kitties” is a tissue paper cutout collage laid on paper, 6.5” W x 9” H, dated 2/12/15.

The cat figures are cut from colored tissue paper used for wrapping, which was the best material I had on hand for the semi-transparent substance. I cut the figures freehand as if I was drawing the outlines with a pencil or pen, doing my best to visualize each one as I worked. I began with an idea of several colors, but initially all the cats were to be standing in the same position and the same size but randomly placed. I realized that would be difficult to cut in freehand and remembered some of the brush pen sketches I’d done of the Four in action, each in a different color and overlapping like “Everyone’s On My Desk” and “Four Cats Bathing” and knew that was simply more interesting.

So I cut out each one starting with the big blue kitty and let each successive kitty appear to me in color and posture and position in relation to the others. I arranged them on a page in my sketch book, while Mewsette and Mr. Sunshine supervised.

black cats on drafting table with artwork

Mewsette and Mr. Sunshine have a discussion about my work.

While it was apparent I didn’t have the level of transparency I wanted, I still liked what I saw. And though the tissue paper was difficult to cut without ripping, even with a fresh new Xacto blade, I let them be a little rough. Mr. Sunshine inspects my work when it’s near done.

black cat on drafting table with artwork

Mr. Sunshine considers my progress but has an obvious message.

while I was considering that it was not yet done, and what to do next, Mr. Sunshine had a message for me. And while he knows humans can be slow in understanding the meaning of feline body language, he made his point fairly obvious by wearing his thoughts outside himself, literally.

black cat on drafting table with artwork

This needs yellow!

Ah, yes, I need a yellow kitty, like Mr. Sunshine himself.

black cat on drafting table with artwork

“I declare this piece of artwork finished.”

Mr. Sunshine approves. What would I do without my feline supervision and guidance?

After I finished arranging the colorful kitties and the work met with Mr. Sunshine’s approval, I decided against gluing the shapes down. The tissue paper would become a disaster, and a glue stick might as well. So I took a few photos before looking for some sheet protectors, carefully slipping the whole thing inside and scanning it. That is where it is now, and I’ll look for other possible materials for this, colored plastic film perhaps.

DAILY SKETCHES

I endeavor to do at least a small sketch each day as a warm-up to my aesthetic senses, so I have a small pouch of art materials and a few various sized sketchbooks available in the house and out. Usually, these are done in pencil, my first and favorite medium, though sometimes it’s charcoal, ink, colored pencil, ink and brush, whatever strikes my fancy at the moment, the greatest challenge to keep it quick and not get caught up in details, let the idea flow onto the paper.

Most often, the subjects are my cats because they are such willing models, though sometimes I’ll also wander afield, literally, and sketch in my yard or anywhere I go for errands. Medium and especially style vary just so I get a chance to do something new.

Every once in a while, they are meant for framing, and I’ve designed a series of notecards, notepaper and notepads using other daily sketches (see my notecards section). Often I use them as illustrations for graphics projects I’m designing.

Find other similar stuff

Browse other Daily Sketches and Feline Note Cards as well as Feline Artwork and Feline Greeting Cards.

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.

Flourish-darkgray-100Don’t miss any new items or opportunities!

“Follow” the Portraits of Animals blog with the link in the upper left. Sign up to receive posts in email, or in your favorite reader using the links in the right-hand column.

Sign up for e-newsletters

You can also sign up for my monthly e-newsletters to receive special discounts and find out where I’ll be with my artwork.

Click here for the Creative Cat Preview E-newsletter, for feline and animal-specific products and information.

Click here for the Art & Merchandise E-newsletter, for landscapes, nature, urban scenes and more.

For art, photos and writing as I develop it, visit my blogs.

See feline art and photos as they happen on The Creative Cat, along with feline news, health, welfare, rescue stories and more.

See daily photos as I post them on Today.

Read poetry, short stories, essays and more on Paths I Have Walked.

. . . . . . .

© 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.

My Cats in the Sun Note Cards

Cards are blank inside, 4-1/2” x 6-1/4” and include a border as shown, printed in full color on matte-finish ivory stock  and come with cream opaque square-flap envelopes, packed in a clear-top white cardboard greeting card box; up to three cards are mailed first class.

They are available in packs of 12 with three cards in each of the four images, or you may specify a custom dozen.



  • 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.
  • “My Cat in the Sun” cards do not assort with any other cards .
  • Price includes shipping via First Class or Priority Mail.

catsinthesunlogo

ABOUT THE CARDS, THE CATS AND THE ARTWORK

Bright sunshine on anything will inspire me, especially when it’s illuminating one of my cats…and so I’d like to share that inspiration with other feline fans. These four designs are printed from my original artwork, each of them cats who’ve shared my life past and present.

These four images are four early paintings inspired by my cats enjoying a spot of sun with a nap or a bath. They date from the early to mid-90s when I was working hard to refine my skills with pastel, with color, with shape and even the strokes in my paintings. I felt I really move up a few notches with these four paintings and celebrated that by having them printed as note cards, my first set of full-color note cards in my career.

After Dinner Nap

Stanley didn’t have many relaxed moments during the day, but one of them was always a spot of sun right after dinner and a nice bath. Rather than disturb him by trying to share in his contentment and fussing over him, I chose to render the warmth of the sun on his side and the depth of the early evening shadows all around.

A Warm Bath

My white cat was endlessly inspiring to me, and I would need two lifetimes to recreate all the images of her that I have photographed and saw every day. With all that lustrous long white fur, Sally’s baths are quite a production, but each bath is like a graceful dance, especially when taken in the morning sun.

A Rosy Glow

She found a warm spot to sleep in the sun on that old pink sweater of mine, and the look of contentment on her face was my first inspiration, especially since Miss Moses (we all thought she was a boy) had been a feral kitten and all her life hesitated to walk across the center of any room, finding security in keeping close to the furniture. But there she is in the middle of the room looking rather smug—I can almost hear her purr.

The Little Sunflower

Real sunworshippers, all of my cats wait for the sun to enter the house in the morning and take their appointed spots. The brilliance of that first light and its reflections around the room, plus the contrast of all the exaggerated straight-line shapes with the organic shape of little Cookie and her shadow inspired this one.

Each of the cats depicted here was or is one of mine and the dogs are ones I’ve come to know through friends and art customers. I am currently working on more dog images; I take the use of an animal’s image in one of my designs very seriously and while I have many lovely photos and have been offered many more, I feel I need to know my subjects before I use their image.

Other products with these images

You will also find each of the images as gift bags, tiles, keepsake boxes and so many other gift items by searching the title of the painting to find all items with the image.

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.

Flourish-darkgray-100Don’t miss any new items or opportunities!

“Follow” the Portraits of Animals blog with the link in the upper left. Sign up to receive posts in email, or in your favorite reader using the links in the right-hand column.

Sign up for e-newsletters

You can also sign up for my monthly e-newsletters to receive special discounts and find out where I’ll be with my artwork.

Click here for the Creative Cat Preview E-newsletter, for feline and animal-specific products and information.

Click here for the Art & Merchandise E-newsletter, for landscapes, nature, urban scenes and more.

For art, photos and writing as I develop it, visit my blogs.

See feline art and photos as they happen on The Creative Cat, along with feline news, health, welfare, rescue stories and more.

See daily photos as I post them on Today.

Read poetry, short stories, essays and more on Paths I Have Walked.

. . . . . . .

© 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.

These drawings are printed in black on natural recyclable textured cotton 80 lb. cover stock and are blank inside. Cards are 4-1/2″ x 6-1/4″ with matching envelopes, packed in a clear-top white cardboard greeting card box.

They are available in packs of 12 with three cards in each of the four images, or you may specify a custom dozen.



  • 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.
  • “Kitties Being Kitties” cards do not assort with any other cards .
  • Price includes shipping via First Class or Priority Mail.

kittieslogo

All four designs in "Kitties Being Kitties".

All four designs in “Kitties Being Kitties”.

ABOUT THE CARDS, THE CATS AND THE ARTWORK

Sometimes the simplicity of a single color line or tone on a beautiful paper stock tells the story more expressively than a full-color, scenic rendering. The expressions, coat patterns and close-cropped scenes of cats just being the individuals they are inspired me to create these little cameos.

Years ago the owner of the veterinary hospital I used suggested he’d like to have customized sympathy cards. The project never came to be but these cards were printed from the ink and monochrome drawings I did in working out ideas for those cards. Each of the cats depicted here was or is one of mine or a friend’s cat but I was working on a more general style so I added spots and shapes and such where I saw fit.

This set was the first set of notecards I had printed from my artwork. They are still very special to me.

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.

 

 

Feline Greeting Cards

Choose a custom dozen of 5″ x 7″ feline greeting cards. Choose from Feline Fine Art Cards, Feline Photo Cards, Compositions in Black and Green or Victoriana Cats.  Each card is 5″ x 7″ , printed on 14 pt. card stock and includes a matching envelope, packed in a clear-top cardboard greeting card box. I find people use these cards for all sorts of greetings, from invitations to parties to friendly hellos and thinking of yous to sympathy at the loss of a pet or even a person. Others have taken their favorites and slipped them into 5″ x 7″ frames for their wall.



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

Choose from these sets

Animal Sympathy Cards

Feline Fine Art Cards

Feline Photos Greeting Cards

Feline Seasonal and Holiday Greeting Cards

Compositions in Black and Green

Who knew that vintage mint green sink would photograph in such a rich tone, especially when filled with a black cat? From the time I installed the new bathroom, the black cats owned it and the contrast of their black fur with the mint green fixtures and white walls and floor has been stunning and created some of the most favorite photos in my cat collection.



  • 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.
  • Compositions in Black and Green feline photo cards can assort with all other 5″ x 7″ greeting cards (except custom printed cards) for a quantity discount.
  • Price includes shipping via Priority Mail.

Have a Drink With Family

ABOUT THE ARTWORK

The set includes two familiar images, but really focuses on one kitty—Jelly Bean! “Gosh, I’m Cute” pictures Jelly Bean admiring himself in the mirror long offered as a greeting card, and “Have a Drink With Family” shows the Fantastic Four all drinking from the sink faucet at the same time. The new designs are “Composition in Green and Black”, offered by request but one of my favorite atmospheric images of Jelly Bean dozing in the sun on the edge of the sink, and “Toe Cleaning in Green and Black”, the Bean once again in a close-up capture of activity with the mint green sink reflecting on Bean’s black fur and paws. On the back is the story of the photo.

Composition in Black and Green

Jelly Bean enjoys being washed in spring sunlight as I enjoy how the pattern of the window muntins falls across the wall, the sink and him. What you can’t hear in this photo is Jelly Bean’s loud, vigorous purr as it echoes in the sink, truly an amazing percussive technique.

This very photo was the inspiration for this series of greeting cards, and the calendar of the same name, giving me a focus for the whole series of images. I loved the look of this image as soon as I saw Jelly Bean quietly resting on the edge of the sink, all its shades of green lit by the spring sunlight, Bean’s pleasantly rounded shape contrasting with geometric shadows of the window frame and muntins, and even before I photographed it the idea of a series of photos on this theme was born, including even the name. I already had a number of photos in the theme of black and green and knew I’d get more, and even to this day I am photographing more “compositions in black and green”.

Gosh, I’m Cute.

Jelly Bean is about as cute as cute can be and he knows how to use it.

Have a Drink With Family

Especially if you’re the Parched Puddies having your daily drink in the mint green sink and the drink is water! It’s Giuseppe, Jelly Bean, Mr. Sunshine and Mewsette, who were fostered in the “old” bathroom, before it was remodeled, and everything leaked. They grew up assuming you could drink out of any faucet, and still, years later, gather in the bathroom sink in twos, threes and fours, asking for a drink.

Toe Cleaning in Black and Green

A kitty having a bath in the sink is not terribly noteworthy, but in 2009 I was still discovering the magic of black and green and the green reflection of the sink on Jelly Bean’s fur and especially his toe pads, was enchanting, and I also like this photo for its somewhat abstract quality.

Use them for all-purpose greeting cards, sympathy, thinking of you, friendship, or find some stylish frames for 5″ x 7″ images and frame them for your walls.

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.

Flourish-darkgray-100Don’t miss any new items or opportunities!

“Follow” the Portraits of Animals blog with the link in the upper left. Sign up to receive posts in email, or in your favorite reader using the links in the right-hand column.

Sign up for e-newsletters

You can also sign up for my monthly e-newsletters to receive special discounts and find out where I’ll be with my artwork.

Click here for the Creative Cat Preview E-newsletter, for feline and animal-specific products and information.

Click here for the Art & Merchandise E-newsletter, for landscapes, nature, urban scenes and more.

For art, photos and writing as I develop it, visit my blogs.

See feline art and photos as they happen on The Creative Cat, along with feline news, health, welfare, rescue stories and more.

See daily photos as I post them on Today.

Read poetry, short stories, essays and more on Paths I Have Walked.

. . . . . . .

© 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.

Six Valentine Cards for all sorts of Valentines.
Six Valentine Cards for all sorts of Valentines.

Six Valentine Cards for all sorts of Valentines.

As an artist I turn to my surroundings for creative output, and you may recognize many of the photos and illustrations I’ve used to create these cards. Each of the cats depicted here is one of mine, even if they are in yellow marker outlined in black. My cats have no choice but to be models, especially “if they like to eat” as I always tell them when they roll their eyes.

These cards are 5″ x 7″ and are printed on 12 pt. gloss cover, uncoated inside, and nearly all have a message inside. Orders of a half dozen or more are packed in a clear-top vinyl greeting card box.

While they are clearly useful for Valentine’s Day with all that red and loving purrs, you can also use them for all-purpose greeting cards, sympathy, thinking of you, friendship, or find some frames for 5″ x 7″ images and frame them for your walls.

  • Cards are available in custom quantities or sets.
  • Cards are available individually in separate listings.
  • Each card has a message inside, as shown below.
  • Choice of red or white envelope, or a mix of both.
  • Price includes shipping.
  • If no choices are made, the default order is: half dozen, one card in each design; dozen, two cards in each design; all red envelopes


About each design

Two Yellow Cats

This card was designed from one of my daily sketches and just lends itself to a variety of themes—Valentine, friendship, thinking of you…I introduced it for Valentine’s Day but actually offer it in two designs. You may just be friends with the recipient, or you may be using the card for an entirely different purpose, so I offer this design with a heart, and without.

Two Yellow Cats Valentine.

Two Yellow Cats Valentine.

Two Yellow Cats everyday car.Two Yellow Cats everyday car.

Two Yellow Cats everyday card.

The message inside is “…purrrr….purrrrr…purrrrr…” in my own handwriting in an attempt to simulate the kitty purring on my lap at the time, a message that can be given to a friend or to someone who is a little more than a friend.

Text inside “Two Yellow Cats”, both design versions.

Text inside “Two Yellow Cats”, both design versions.

Both design options are available all the time so you can send your chosen greeting any time of the year.

This card comes with choice of red, white or yellow acid-free envelopes which are inkjet/laser compatible.

About the artwork

This daily sketch was done in felt-tip brush markers, signed and dated 7/7/12.

“Even if it’s too hot to cuddle, I still love my sister.”

That’s Jelly Bean and Mewsette enjoying a quiet moment looking out the basement door. Actually, Jelly Bean was trying to get Mewsette to give him a little bath on the head, knowing that if he leaned in at just the right angle and just the right moment, Mewsette would turn and lick him without even thinking about it. It didn’t work, but it was okay.

Jelly Bean and Mewsette are black but as you know I have fun sketching them in totally unrealistic colors. In this case I wanted to express the sunshine on a hot summer morning. After I’d looked at it a few times I could just imagine a little red heart above the two so I drew that separately, but in the same style.



Nuzzles and Purrrrrs

Nuzzles and Purrrrrs for Valentine’s Day!

Nuzzles and Purrrrrs for Valentine’s Day!

The operatically romantic Giuseppe  Basil Verdi and the French-Canadian belle femme Mlle. Daisy Emerald Marguerite have been carrying on a long-distance affaire since the summer of 2011; they always conclude their correspondence with “nuzzles and purrrrrs”, hence the name and the text inside.

The inspiration for this card.

The inspiration for this card.

I photographed Mewsette and Giuseppe cuddling on my desk while I worked at my computer and posted them as a daily photo. So many readers immediately said “Valentine” that I thought I’d oblige with a design! And even though it’s Mewsette and not Mlle. Daisy, Mewsette looks so much like the lovely and dignified Mlle. that she is a stand-in when needed, and always knows when her brother needs a hug.

Text inside “Nuzzles and Purrs”.

The message inside is “NUZZLES AND PURRRRRS” in a really fun font. Card comes with choice of red or white acid-free envelopes which are inkjet/laser compatible.



You Are My Heart Cat

“Heart Cats”, featuring Mr. Sunshine and Mewsette.

“Heart Cats”, featuring Mr. Sunshine and Mewsette.

This card is possibly the most popular of them all.

The siblings of the Fantastic Four often cuddle and hug, cheek to cheek, but this design, adapted from the original heart-shaped cats photo of Mr. Sunshine and Mewsette is still my favorite; the background color of the card is adapted from the color of their eyes.

I photographed these two in the bathroom at night in poor light, but no matter, such a sweet photo, I’d do my best. Since then I’ve adapted the two into many different designs and colors. Here, for Valentine’s day, they are solid black with the solid cerise of their eyes, and just one red heart as they hug.

Text inside “You Are My Heart Cat”

Text inside “You Are My Heart Cat”

The message inside is “YOU ARE MY HEART CAT” in a really fun font. Card comes with choice of red or white acid-free envelopes—I just can’t match that background color, so no yellow—which are inkjet/laser compatible.



Purple Cats, Red Blanket

“Purple Cats, Red Blanket”

“Purple Cats, Red Blanket”

This daily sketch was done in felt-tip ink technical drawing pen with watercolor washes, signed and dated 1/6/12, and pictures Jelly Bean and Mewsette using a red blanket I’d tossed to the landing for the laundry as a comfy impromptu cat bed.

Black cats, like white cats, have all sorts of colors in their fur, and in the day’s filtered sunlight their fur glistened with all sorts of highlights and shadows. The randomly shaped and wrinkled red blanket heightened the range of colors in their fur and even the neutral wood floor held random combinations in its old unfinished grain. Mostly, the composition was what attracted me in the first place: two similar heavy rounded shapes, the random soft shape and the smooth shape brought elements together in a very pleasing way.

“Purple Cats, Red Blanket”

“Purple Cats, Red Blanket”

The message inside is “Purr Hearts” in my handwriting and hand-drawn heart-pawprints.



Steal a Moment

Steal a Moment With a Kitty You Love

Steal a Moment With a Kitty You Love

This photo was originally an unfocused mistake but I liked it better than the focused version, and so did many readers of The Creative Cat.

The message inside is “HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY”—imagine that!

Inside the card.

Inside the card.

Card comes with choice of red or white acid-free envelopes which are inkjet/laser compatible.



Silhouettes for Valentine’s Day

Silhouettes for Valentine’s Day.

Silhouettes for Valentine’s Day.

I originated this design as a Halloween card using autumn shades in October 2011, but with a little color change it suits Valentine’s Day. It features my photograph of the full Harvest Moon and the silhouettes of Jelly Bean and Mimi derived from a photo of the two.

Unlike all the others, this card is blank inside, ready for your message.

Card comes with choice of red or white acid-free envelopes which are inkjet/laser compatible.

These cards are 5″ x 7″ and are printed on 12 pt. gloss cover, uncoated inside, and nearly all have a message inside. Orders of a half dozen or more are packed in a clear-top vinyl greeting card box.

  • Choice of red or white envelope, or a mix of both.
  • Price includes shipping.
  • If no choice is made, the default envelope color is red.


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.

Flourish-darkgray-100Don’t miss any new items or opportunities!

“Follow” the Portraits of Animals blog with the link in the upper left. Sign up to receive posts in email, or in your favorite reader using the links in the right-hand column.

Sign up for e-newsletters

You can also sign up for my monthly e-newsletters to receive special discounts and find out where I’ll be with my artwork.

Click here for the Creative Cat Preview E-newsletter, for feline and animal-specific products and information.

Click here for the Art & Merchandise E-newsletter, for landscapes, nature, urban scenes and more.

For art, photos and writing as I develop it, visit my blogs.

See feline art and photos as they happen on The Creative Cat, along with feline news, health, welfare, rescue stories and more.

See daily photos as I post them on Today.

Read poetry, short stories, essays and more on Paths I Have Walked.

. . . . . . .

© 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.

 

Winter Cats set of greeting cards

I love snow light, inside or out, and with the bare trees and in winter I’m reminded of other snowy days and the cats who enjoyed them with me. This set joins four paintings of my cats done in winter light in a looser, Impressionist style, in a series I call “Winter Cats”. Each was rescued from a life outdoors in the cold, ice and snow, and I am glad I could provide a loving home from where they could simply enjoy a snowy day from the inside.

  • 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.
  • Winter Cats feline fine art cards assort with all other 5″ x 7″ greeting cards (except custom printed cards) for a quantity discount.
  • Price includes shipping, handling and tax.



ABOUT THE ARTWORK

Use them for all-purpose greeting cards, sympathy, thinking of you, friendship, or find some shabby chic frames for 5″ x 7″ images and frame them for your walls.

Winter Window

Kelly pauses in the stark pastel light of a winter afternoon through the big north window in my studio, absolutely still in contemplation as she watches birds flit about at the feeders or Buddy the squirrel making a fool of himself. Kelly is petite for an adult cat, making the window seem vast, and the light is so diffuse that nothing has a hard edge. It is a scene I remember even in the heat of summer.

“Winter Window” is an original pastel on drawing paper I prepared myself, image size 8″ x 8″ painted in 2002 right in my office while Kelly looked out the window, and as often happens capturing that moment of inspiration also catches something essential that more planned paintings don’t. Though only I would recognize this as Kelly and she is facing away I will always feel I captured something very deep about her personality and about our relationship with this simple image.

In 2002 I was casting about for a holiday card image, saw little Kelly quietly looking out the window as she often did; silently so not to startle her I grabbed my pastels and a piece of my “experimental” drawing paper and got to work, standing right in the middle of the room to quickly capture the essence of the scene I visualized in that instant: the pastel winter light different in each pane of the window, the view softened by falling snow, the muted shadows inside, the softness of the bright overcast snow light. But it was all inspired by Kelly’s particular quiet and contemplative nature, I just loved her little shape, her petite figure in the midst of that vast light, and even then I remembered her early history living outdoors with a stray/feral colony; I had always wondered, in these moments, if she thought about those experiences that had so marked her cheerful and affectionate nature with timidity. For me, this has always been a portrait of the Kelly I knew who lived in her happy world with me and her feline siblings, but with part of her still in that other life, and separate from me. Who would know that in one quick visual and a 15-minute sketch I would be able to capture all that? But as always, I’m glad I took the time, and now I have this wonderful memory.

Cool Morning Bath

Mimi twisted and turned in the diffuse morning light at the door, all those delicate shades reflecting warmer on the floor, cooler on her, but still all in greens and blues and a very pale yellow.

Afternoon Nap

An old cat, a gentleman,
he has found a quiet spot, upstairs in the afternoon,
and has so perfectly placed himself a little off-center
on the expanse of white bedspread,
illuminated by stark winter light through the window.
(Stanley finds all the best places.)

~

You know those moments where you walk upon a scene of your cats doing something that you always want to remember, whether it’s a regular habit or a one-time thing? This scene was one of Stanley’s regular habits during his last few years; every afternoon he’d head upstairs with intent and I’d find him curled in the same spot on the bed.

All of my art begins with a moment, be the subject my cats or nature or even a more abstract visual theme. It’s where I go from that moment of inspiration that differs from one work to the next. Sometimes I’ll decide on a more formal portrait, more detailed, more planned, to capture a moment. I’ll take photos and write a few notes and keep it in my files for the day when I have time to follow up, and often this is determined by how often and how clearly my original image appears in my conscious mind—sometimes a painting really wants to be done and I find myself visualizing it all the time, other times it leaves and comes back at a moment that is meaningful. But sometimes I’ll do a quick sketch and leave it at that. The image is simple, it works best small, I only want to capture the mood, and there isn’t enough essential detail to warrant a larger, more detailed piece.

With “Afternoon Nap” I decided I wanted that moment. I’d already taken a few photos of him just to preserve the moment and was considering this sort of a scene as a more formal portrait. At his age he slept pretty soundly but I still tiptoed out of the room and ran down the stairs for my stuff. I grabbed my small box of pastels and a piece of my “experimental” drawing paper, choosing a heavy drawing paper to which I’d applied marble dust mixed with gesso and just a little bit of fine fine grit pastel medium, applying it with a brush to have just a bit of texture. I got to work, standing at the foot of the bed to quickly capture the essence of the scene I visualized in that instant: all the shades of shadow and highlight in the white bedspread, the fold under the pillows and the curve of the mahogany headboard just giving enough detail to know it was a bed, and the pastel winter light full of sun and just a bit of green reflected from the ivy on the tree outside the window. Instead of drawing with the ends of the pastels I dragged them over the surface in layers to get the depth of color and shadows, Stanley himself just in simple tonal colors, the only solid detail in his white paw.

It was all over in about ten minutes, and though I’d taken the reference photo I never made any changes from that initial inspired session. In its frame, I have allowed the edges to show, mounting it on deep burgundy mat board. I still have this painting, treasure it for its memory of Stanley as he watches over my office, and use it as inspiration for other similar sketches. You can read more about this painting in “A Portrait of an Old Cat”.

Sunday Morning

A Formerly Feral Kitty Finds Her Place

Moses made it back upstairs after breakfast before I had a chance to make the bed, and I didn’t have the heart to move her. So I got a sheet of drawing paper and my pastels and did a quick sketch of the scene, finishing it later from a photograph.

It was a pleasure to work in a looser style and just to catch the mood and all that wonderful winter light filling the ruffled batiste curtains through the east and south facing windows, sweet Moses being bold out in the open on the bed. I painted this on a Sunday morning very like today, early January, overcast with cool, diffuse snow light filling the upstairs rooms.

Look at the date: 1989, very early on in my career. I knew of one kind of pastel drawing paper and had cheap pastels and colored chalk, not sure whether I should make the investment in “real” pastels, and I had my cats. I guess that was all I needed. Now, years later, it’s a marvel to look at what I did with so little experience—if I did this as a daily sketch today I’d be glowing with pride and thrilled to share it.

But in this painting I also have this memory of a house I moved from long ago, and a happy scene with gentle little Moses that conveys more than the photograph ever could. Though no one but me would recognize her, I know this signifies a new confidence Moses had grown to feel that year, two years after she’d come to me, and that would grow slowly, slowly over the next 17 years.

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.

Flourish-darkgray-100Don’t miss any new items or opportunities!

“Follow” the Portraits of Animals blog with the link in the upper left. Sign up to receive posts in email, or in your favorite reader using the links in the right-hand column.

Sign up for e-newsletters

You can also sign up for my monthly e-newsletters to receive special discounts and find out where I’ll be with my artwork.

Click here for the Creative Cat Preview E-newsletter, for feline and animal-specific products and information.

Click here for the Art & Merchandise E-newsletter, for landscapes, nature, urban scenes and more.

For art, photos and writing as I develop it, visit my blogs.

See feline art and photos as they happen on The Creative Cat, along with feline news, health, welfare, rescue stories and more.

See daily photos as I post them on Today.

Read poetry, short stories, essays and more on Paths I Have Walked.

. . . . . . .

© 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.

Linoleum block-printed Valentine cards inspired by Valentine Candy hearts!
Linoleum block-printed Valentine cards inspired by Valentine Candy hearts!

Linoleum block-printed Valentine cards inspired by Valentine Candy hearts!

I usually print these little linocuts in earth tones or “tabby colors”, but I’ve been itching to use brights and pastels and all sorts of combinations with them. I decided they made cute valentines and that’s a great reason to create hand-printed cards in magenta on pink, violet, magenta and red card stock, embellished with magenta or purple stamp ink, just saturated with color for Valentine’s Day!

This set of 4-1/4″ x 5-1/2″ note cards features two designs combining my hand-cut block prints with commercial rubber stamps on smooth uncoated 70 lb. cover stock.

On the back of all the cards I’ve stamped in purple ink the name of the series of block prints, my logo and my name and contact information.

Each card comes with a matching 70 lb. text weight acid-free envelope which is inkjet/laser compatible. The set of four, eight or 12 is packed in a clear-top vinyl greeting card box.

Because these are handmade, I have a limited quantity of each card!

PINK, VIOLET AND MAGENTA CARDS

A single kitty entitled “Sunshine and Flowers” printed in magenta says “MEOW!” stamped in magenta with a commercial rubber stamp. Inside “You’re PURRRFECT” is stamped in magenta with a commercial rubber stamp. Two kitties cuddling for a bath say “You’re PURRRFECT” stamped in magenta with a commercial rubber stamp. Inside “MEOW!” is stamped in magenta with a commercial rubber stamp.

RED CARDS

A single kitty entitled “Sunshine and Flowers” printed in magenta says “MEOW!” stamped in purple with a commercial rubber stamp. Inside “You’re PURRRFECT” is stamped in purple with a commercial rubber stamp. Two kitties cuddling for a bath say “You’re PURRRFECT” stamped in purple with a commercial rubber stamp. Inside “MEOW!” is stamped in purple with a commercial rubber stamp.

I offer them as singles, in sets by color and design, and in sets of four and eight that include all four colors.

Purchase cards

Shipping is included in the price. Individual cards are shipped by first class mail. All others shipped as parcels.



Printing the cards

Meet my quality control team: Mewsette, Giuseppe and Jelly Bean inspect each card.

Meet my quality control team: Mewsette, Giuseppe and Jelly Bean inspect each card.

With a discerning quality control team like them, you know each card is purr-fect.

About the art: Tabbies Linoleum Block Prints

The stripes made me do it! No, we have not always been a household of solid-color cats. The clarity of tabby cat stripes as they outline a cat’s features and define its shape has always been an inspiration for more graphic designs beginning with Fawn, Stanley and Allegro.

These cards were block printed, a technique wherein the artist carves the surface of a piece of linoleum, leaving raised areas which will become the image. Ink is rolled onto these raised areas, then a piece of paper is pressed against the block and when it’s lifted away the ink remains, leaving the image on the paper.

These two designs are from a set of four, and have always had a sweet and cuddly feel to me. I’d always printed these in natural earth tones but have been planning to print them in bright colors on brightly-colored paper as well.

"These cats are all covered with funny markings," say the three perfect black cats. They are very serious about their job.

“These cats are all covered with funny markings,” say the three perfect black cats. They are very serious about their job.

I photographed the process as I printed these—of course, with feline supervision—and below you can see how block prints are made.

A little bit about block printing

I really enjoy working in this medium and I can free myself from the traditional media and a greater realism in rendering. Linoleum block printing is a technique wherein the artist carves the surface of a piece of artist’s linoleum, leaving raised areas which will become the image. Ink is rolled onto these raised areas, then a piece of paper is pressed against the block and when it’s lifted away the ink remains, leaving the image on the paper.

Here are a few photos taken as I was printing the “Tabbies” cards for Valentine’s Day.

The resulting work isn’t a one-time thing, but meant to be printed multiple times–and I do, on just about anything I can think of. They all start out on paper, but they’ve been printed on t-shirts and dresses and aprons and curtains, to name a few things. I often add color with watercolor or dyes to some prints since that was part of the original design.

Because of the nature of the medium, each print is unique and ink coverage is not always perfect. Most artists consider this random activity to be part of the process of creating an individualized print, and along with the hand-painting makes a unique work of art.

I published an article all about block printing on The Creative Cat.

My gallery of Hand-printed Art, Housewares and Apparel brings together all my hand-printed materials, and you can browse my Feline Linoleum Block Prints, Wildlife Linoleum Block Prints, and Hand-printed Cards.

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.

Flourish-darkgray-100Don’t miss any new items or opportunities!

“Follow” the Portraits of Animals blog with the link in the upper left. Sign up to receive posts in email, or in your favorite reader using the links in the right-hand column.

Sign up for e-newsletters

You can also sign up for my monthly e-newsletters to receive special discounts and find out where I’ll be with my artwork.

Click here for the Creative Cat Preview E-newsletter, for feline and animal-specific products and information.

Click here for the Art & Merchandise E-newsletter, for landscapes, nature, urban scenes and more.

For art, photos and writing as I develop it, visit my blogs.

See feline art and photos as they happen on The Creative Cat, along with feline news, health, welfare, rescue stories and more.

See daily photos as I post them on Today.

Read poetry, short stories, essays and more on Paths I Have Walked.

. . . . . . .

© 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.

Madame Mewsette Halloween Card

“Madame Mewsette Will Tell Your For-tuna” features my Mewsette, and this is what she wore as her Halloween costume. And she didn’t even have to put on one embarrassing garment or accessory.

When I attended Catholic grade school, we were to dress up as our patron saint for All Hallow’s Eve, and dressing up as St. Bernadette was pretty easy for me as I already tended to wear peasant-style clothing and St. Bernadette didn’t suffer any dire injuries or horrible torture like some of the other saints, she just lived to be very old, despite Lourdes.

Well, I think Mewsette is dressed up as one of her patron kitties—she is quiet and introspective, unlike her brothers, and I can just see her in the role of a familiar or a gypsy fortune-teller!

Madame Mewsette Halloween Card

Madame Mewsette Halloween Card



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

As an artist I turn to my surroundings for creative output, and what better to do with a family of five black cats during the festive Halloween season? I posted many of these photos on my blog, The Creative Cat, for my daily photos during 2010. Each of the cats depicted here is one of this wonderful family except the calico who belongs to my neighbor–and I just had to use that photo! My cats have no choice, especially “if they like to eat” as I always tell them when they roll their eyes about being my models.

I will remark that I don’t like to associate black cats with Halloween for various reasons, but I didn’t pose a single one—when I got out the pumpkins they obligingly posed. But it’s never a bad thing to have cats of any color or pattern on a greeting card for any holiday.

See the whole set of six designs!

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.

Flourish-darkgray-100Don’t miss any new items or opportunities!

“Follow” the Portraits of Animals blog with the link in the upper left. Sign up to receive posts in email, or in your favorite reader using the links in the right-hand column.

Sign up for e-newsletters

You can also sign up for my monthly e-newsletters to receive special discounts and find out where I’ll be with my artwork.

Click here for the Creative Cat Preview E-newsletter, for feline and animal-specific products and information.

Click here for the Art & Merchandise E-newsletter, for landscapes, nature, urban scenes and more.

For art, photos and writing as I develop it, visit my blogs.

See feline art and photos as they happen on The Creative Cat, along with feline news, health, welfare, rescue stories and more.

See daily photos as I post them on Today.

Read poetry, short stories, essays and more on Paths I Have Walked.

. . . . . . .

© 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.

We Three Pumpkins 2

This version of “We 3 Pumpkins” is a little toned down from the original that makes a pun on “We Three Kings”, It features my photos of special jack-o-lanterns at the “Night Walk” along the Panhandle Trail. The Rennerdale Youth Group carves more than 100 donated pumpkins and the Collier Girl Scouts set out and light the jack-o-lanterns along a half-mile stretch of the Panhandle Trail from the bridge near the Walkers Mill trailhead to the Sunnyside entrance. I photograph the pumpkins every year, and enjoy seeking out the feline-themed pumpkins.



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

As an artist I turn to my surroundings for creative output, and what better to do with a family of five black cats during the festive Halloween season? I posted many of these photos on my blog, The Creative Cat, for my daily photos during 2010. Each of the cats depicted here is one of this wonderful family except the calico who belongs to my neighbor–and I just had to use that photo! My cats have no choice, especially “if they like to eat” as I always tell them when they roll their eyes about being my models.

I will remark that I don’t like to associate black cats with Halloween for various reasons, but I didn’t pose a single one—when I got out the pumpkins they obligingly posed. But it’s never a bad thing to have cats of any color or pattern on a greeting card for any holiday.

 

Feline Fine Art Cards.

This line of Feline Greeting Cards is 5″ x 7″ , printed on 12 pt. card stock and includes matching envelopes for each card, packed in a clear-top white cardboard greeting card box. Cards are blank inside.

I find people use these cards for all sorts of greetings, from invitations to parties to friendly hellos and thinking of yous to sympathy at the loss of a pet or even a person. Others have taken their favorites and slipped them into 5″ x 7″ frames for their wall.



  • 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 Fine Art 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

These greeting cards are created from paintings of the cats with whom I’ve had the pleasure of sharing my life—and that includes a few friends’ cats as well. It was through observing their feline grace and their individual natures that I found my muse as an artist and finally decided to get down on paper what I saw with my eyes and felt with my heart. There’s a story behind each one.

I’ve included a mix of pastel and watercolor and a mix of styles, from realistic detail to loose impressionistic scenes so you have a choice for all occasions. Cards have only the image on the front, are blank inside, and carry the title of the painting and information about it on the back, you can write inside it whatever you want. Some people purchase them to frame as little prints as well.

While I render many other subjects now it all began with my cats and the hopeless affection I felt for each of them and all their moods and quirks and manners of affection toward me. This is the gift they gave to me, and I will be forever in their debt, spending a lifetime to pay it off by sharing them with others.

This is the original set of 12. I’ve created a few other cards since I put together this first set and you’ll see them as singles you can assort for your own custom set here.

Happy Meow-lo-ween desin

The sketch from Halloween night in 2012 as I handed out my candy and all the knocking got to be a bit much for these four was destined to be a Halloween design. When I designed the card the sketch needed a little something extra so I drew a pumpkin to add to the design and chose a fun font to go with it.

This design is also available on a garden flag and a variety of other Halloween gift items.



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

As an artist I turn to my surroundings for creative output, and what better to do with a family of five black cats during the festive Halloween season? I posted many of these photos on my blog, The Creative Cat, for my daily photos during 2010. Each of the cats depicted here is one of this wonderful family except the calico who belongs to my neighbor–and I just had to use that photo! My cats have no choice, especially “if they like to eat” as I always tell them when they roll their eyes about being my models.

I will remark that I don’t like to associate black cats with Halloween for various reasons, but I didn’t pose a single one—when I got out the pumpkins they obligingly posed. But it’s never a bad thing to have cats of any color or pattern on a greeting card for any holiday.

 

Order a custom set of six or a dozen Halloween cards.

As an artist I turn to my surroundings for creative output, and what better to do with a family of five black cats during the festive Halloween season? I posted many of these photos on my blog, The Creative Cat, for my daily photos during 2010. Each of the cats depicted here is one of this wonderful family except the calico who belongs to my neighbor–and I just had to use that photo! My cats have no choice, especially “if they like to eat” as I always tell them when they roll their eyes about being my models.



I will remark that I don’t like to associate black cats with Halloween for various reasons, but I didn’t pose a single one—when I got out the pumpkins they obligingly posed. But it’s never a bad thing to have cats of any color or pattern on a greeting card for any holiday.

  • Cards are also available individually.
  • Cards are blank inside but can be customized with your message for an extra charge.
  • Meow-lo-ween 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

“Happy Meow-lo-ween” Greeting Card

This sketch from Halloween night in 2012 as I handed out my candy and all the knocking got to be a bit much for these four was destined to be a Halloween design. I designed the card first and the sketch needed a little something extra so I drew a pumpkin to add to the design, and then went on from there to the garden flag, placemat, wooden panel decoration, and who knows what else I’ll create?

I will remark that I don’t like to associate black cats with Halloween for various reasons, but I didn’t pose a single one—they obligingly posed. But it’s never a bad thing to have cats of any color or pattern on a greeting card for any holiday.

 

Madame Mewsette Will Tell Your For-tuna

This card, “Madame Mewsette Will Tell Your For-tuna” features Miss Mewsette.

This is what Mewsette is dressed up as to celebrate this evening’s events. And she didn’t even have to put on one embarrassing garment or accessory.

When I attended Catholic grade school, we were to dress up as our patron saint for All Hallow’s Eve, and dressing up as St. Bernadette was pretty easy for me as I already tended to wear peasant-style clothing and St. Bernadette didn’t suffer any dire injuries or horrible torture like some of the other saints, she just lived to be very old, despite Lourdes.

Well, I think Mewsette is dressed up as one of her patron kitties—she is quiet and introspective, unlike her brothers, and I can just see her in the role of a familiar or a gypsy fortune-teller!

Enter: Three WITCHES

This card, “Enter: Three WITCHES” features Miss Mewsette, her mom Mimi and her brother Giuseppe.

Guess the kids have been getting into my literature textbooks again. I thought my Riverside Shakespeare was too heavy for them, but there is no getting in the way of a determined reader. Now that they’ve mastered Act 1, Scene 1 of MacBeth, I can’t wait to see how they interpret Scene 2.

Maybe reading to them as kittens really did work.

Actually, Mimi, Mewsette and Giuseppe were gathered around the lamp “to keep warm” as they said, because the temperature was all of about 65 degrees. Time to get out the cozy beds!

Boo!

This card, “Boo!” features Lucy from a few years ago. Sadly, I lost Lucy to FIP when she was 15 months old so she never had the chance to develop her career as all my other cats have, so I love to use her image in a creative endeavor whenever possible.

I Dare You

This card, “I Dare You” features my next-door neighbor’s calico cat, who could have a bit of an attitude as you can see by her expression, but I enjoyed her visits for the brief time they let her outside. She had unique markings—her face, legs and tail are calico including white paws, but her torso is tortoiseshell.

Silhouettes

This card features the Harvest Moon just photographed in September 2011, and the silhouettes of two of my five black cats in a wordless design. I wanted to incorporate this year’s Harvest Moon in at least one design, and kept it simple with the solid black background and just the silhouettes of two of my black cats but in the pale orange of the moon, light against dark instead of dark against light.

We Three Pumpkins

“We 3 Pumpkins” makes a pun on “We Three Kings” and features my photos of special jack-o-lanterns at the “Night Walk” along the Panhandle Trail. The Rennerdale Youth Group carves more than 100 donated pumpkins and the Collier Girl Scouts set out and light the jack-o-lanterns along a half-mile stretch of the Panhandle Trail from the bridge near the Walkers Mill trailhead to the Sunnyside entrance. I photograph the pumpkins every year, and enjoy seeking out the feline-themed pumpkins.

We Three Pumpkins 2

“We 3 Pumpkins 2”, well, I thought “We Three Pumpkins” was a little overdone so I settled it down. It features my photos of special jack-o-lanterns at the “Night Walk” along the Panhandle Trail. The Rennerdale Youth Group carves more than 100 donated pumpkins and the Collier Girl Scouts set out and light the jack-o-lanterns along a half-mile stretch of the Panhandle Trail from the bridge near the Walkers Mill trailhead to the Sunnyside entrance. I photograph the pumpkins every year, and enjoy seeking out the feline-themed pumpkins.

Enter Three WITCHES Halloween Card

“Enter: Three WITCHES” features Miss Mewsette, her mom Mimi and her brother Giuseppe re-enacting a scene from Shakespeare’s MacBeth.

Guess the kids have been getting into my literature textbooks again. I thought my Riverside Shakespeare was too heavy for them, but there is no getting in the way of a determined reader. Now that they’ve mastered Act 1, Scene 1 of MacBeth, I can’t wait to see how they interpret Scene 2.

Maybe reading to them as kittens really did work.

Actually, Mimi, Mewsette and Giuseppe were gathered around the lamp “to keep warm” as they said, because the temperature was all of about 65 degrees. Time to get out the cozy beds!



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

As an artist I turn to my surroundings for creative output, and what better to do with a family of five black cats during the festive Halloween season? I posted many of these photos on my blog, The Creative Cat, for my daily photos during 2010. Each of the cats depicted here is one of this wonderful family except the calico who belongs to my neighbor–and I just had to use that photo! My cats have no choice, especially “if they like to eat” as I always tell them when they roll their eyes about being my models.

I will remark that I don’t like to associate black cats with Halloween for various reasons, but I didn’t pose a single one—when I got out the pumpkins they obligingly posed. But it’s never a bad thing to have cats of any color or pattern on a greeting card for any holiday.

 

Silhouettes Full Moon Halloween Card

This card features the Harvest Moon just photographed in September 2011, and the silhouettes of two of my five black cats in a wordless design. I wanted to incorporate this year’s Harvest Moon in at least one design, and kept it simple with the solid black background and just the silhouettes of two of my black cats but in the pale orange of the moon, light against dark instead of dark against light.

I also offer this card as a Valentine in black and red.



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

As an artist I turn to my surroundings for creative output, and what better to do with a family of five black cats during the festive Halloween season? I posted many of these photos on my blog, The Creative Cat, for my daily photos during 2010. Each of the cats depicted here is one of this wonderful family except the calico who belongs to my neighbor–and I just had to use that photo! My cats have no choice, especially “if they like to eat” as I always tell them when they roll their eyes about being my models.

I will remark that I don’t like to associate black cats with Halloween for various reasons, but I didn’t pose a single one—when I got out the pumpkins they obligingly posed. But it’s never a bad thing to have cats of any color or pattern on a greeting card for any holiday.

Boo! Lucy Halloween Card

“Boo!” features Lucy from a few years ago. Sadly, I lost Lucy to FIP when she was 15 months old so she never had the chance to develop her career as all my other cats have, so I love to use her image in a creative endeavor whenever possible.



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

As an artist I turn to my surroundings for creative output, and what better to do with a family of five black cats during the festive Halloween season? I posted many of these photos on my blog, The Creative Cat, for my daily photos during 2010. Each of the cats depicted here is one of this wonderful family except the calico who belongs to my neighbor–and I just had to use that photo! My cats have no choice, especially “if they like to eat” as I always tell them when they roll their eyes about being my models.

I will remark that I don’t like to associate black cats with Halloween for various reasons, but I didn’t pose a single one—when I got out the pumpkins they obligingly posed. But it’s never a bad thing to have cats of any color or pattern on a greeting card for any holiday.

I DARE You Tortie Halloween Card

This card, “I Dare You” features my next-door neighbor’s calico,tortie cat, who could have a bit of an attitude as you can see by her expression, but I enjoyed her visits for the brief time they let her outside. She had unique markings—her face, legs and tail are calico including white paws, but her torso is tortoiseshell.

[ss_product id=’e96c12b2-8d6f-11e6-a078-002590787d08′ ]Halloween Card, I DARE You Tortie[/ss_product]

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

As an artist I turn to my surroundings for creative output, and what better to do with a family of five black cats during the festive Halloween season? I posted many of these photos on my blog, The Creative Cat, for my daily photos during 2010. Each of the cats depicted here is one of this wonderful family except the calico who belongs to my neighbor–and I just had to use that photo! My cats have no choice, especially “if they like to eat” as I always tell them when they roll their eyes about being my models.

I will remark that I don’t like to associate black cats with Halloween for various reasons, but I didn’t pose a single one—when I got out the pumpkins they obligingly posed. But it’s never a bad thing to have cats of any color or pattern on a greeting card for any holiday.

We Three Pumpkins

“We 3 Pumpkins” makes a pun on “We Three Kings” and features my photos of special jack-o-lanterns at the “Night Walk” along the Panhandle Trail. The Rennerdale Youth Group carves more than 100 donated pumpkins and the Collier Girl Scouts set out and light the jack-o-lanterns along a half-mile stretch of the Panhandle Trail from the bridge near the Walkers Mill trailhead to the Sunnyside entrance. I photograph the pumpkins every year, and enjoy seeking out the feline-themed pumpkins.

[ss_product id=’fe91cfb4-8d70-11e6-9921-002590787d08′ ]Halloween Card, We Three Pumpkins[/ss_product]

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

As an artist I turn to my surroundings for creative output, and what better to do with a family of five black cats during the festive Halloween season? I posted many of these photos on my blog, The Creative Cat, for my daily photos during 2010. Each of the cats depicted here is one of this wonderful family except the calico who belongs to my neighbor–and I just had to use that photo! My cats have no choice, especially “if they like to eat” as I always tell them when they roll their eyes about being my models.

I will remark that I don’t like to associate black cats with Halloween for various reasons, but I didn’t pose a single one—when I got out the pumpkins they obligingly posed. But it’s never a bad thing to have cats of any color or pattern on a greeting card for any holiday.

 

You Are My Heart Cat Valentine.
“Heart Cats”, featuring Mr. Sunshine and Mewsette.

“Heart Cats”, featuring Mr. Sunshine and Mewsette.

“You Are My Heart Cat” is possibly the most popular of all my Valentines. The siblings of the Fantastic Four often cuddle and hug, cheek to cheek, but this design, adapted from the original heart-shaped cats photo of Mr. Sunshine and Mewsette is still my favorite. The background color of the card is adapted from the color of their eyes.

These cards are 5″ x 7″ and are printed on 12 pt. gloss cover, uncoated inside, and nearly all have a message inside. Orders of a half dozen or more are packed in a clear-top vinyl greeting card box.

While it’s clearly a Valentine you can also it for all-purpose greeting cards, sympathy, thinking of you, friendship, or find a frame for 5″ x 7″ images.

I photographed these two in the bathroom at night in poor light, but no matter, such a sweet photo, I’d do my best. Since then I’ve adapted the two into many different designs and colors. Here, for Valentine’s day, they are solid black with the solid cerise of their eyes, and just one red heart as they hug.

Text inside “You Are My Heart Cat”

Text inside “You Are My Heart Cat”

The message inside is “YOU ARE MY HEART CAT” in a really fun font. Card comes with choice of red or white acid-free envelopes—I just can’t match that background color, so no yellow—which are inkjet/laser compatible.

  • Choice of red or white envelope, or a mix of both.
  • Price includes shipping.
  • If no choice is made, the default envelope color is red.

[ss_product id=’5b6caf48-df5a-11e6-8d76-002590787d08′ ]Feline Valentine, “You Are My Heart Cat”[/ss_product]

Two Yellow Cats Valentine.

This card was designed from one of my daily sketches and just lends itself to a variety of themes—Valentine, friendship, thinking of you…I introduced it for Valentine’s Day but actually offer it in two designs. You may just be friends with the recipient, or you may be using the card for an entirely different purpose, so I offer this design with a heart, and without.

Two Yellow Cats Valentine.

Two Yellow Cats Valentine.

Two Yellow Cats everyday car.Two Yellow Cats everyday car.

Two Yellow Cats everyday card.

The message inside is “…purrrr….purrrrr…purrrrr…” in my own handwriting in an attempt to simulate the kitty purring on my lap at the time, a message that can be given to a friend or to someone who is a little more than a friend.

Text inside “Two Yellow Cats”, both design versions.

Text inside “Two Yellow Cats”, both design versions.

Both design options are available all the time so you can send your chosen greeting any time of the year. You can purchase a custom mixed half dozen or dozen too.

This card comes with choice of red, white or yellow acid-free envelopes which are inkjet/laser compatible.

About the artwork

This daily sketch was done in felt-tip brush markers, signed and dated 7/7/12.

“Even if it’s too hot to cuddle, I still love my sister.”

That’s Jelly Bean and Mewsette enjoying a quiet moment looking out the basement door. Actually, Jelly Bean was trying to get Mewsette to give him a little bath on the head, knowing that if he leaned in at just the right angle and just the right moment, Mewsette would turn and lick him without even thinking about it. It didn’t work, but it was okay.

Jelly Bean and Mewsette are black but as you know I have fun sketching them in totally unrealistic colors. In this case I wanted to express the sunshine on a hot summer morning. After I’d looked at it a few times I could just imagine a little red heart above the two so I drew that separately, but in the same style.

  • Choice of red, white or yellow envelopes, or a mix of both.
  • Price includes shipping.
  • If no choice is made, the default design has the heart and the envelope color is red.

[ss_product id=’c365e8bc-b567-11e5-9d8e-0cc47a075d76′ ]Feline Valentine, “Two Yellow Cats”[/ss_product]

Nuzzles and Purrs Valentine.
Nuzzles and Purrrrrs for Valentine’s Day!

Nuzzles and Purrrrrs for Valentine’s Day!

The operatically romantic Giuseppe  Basil Verdi and the French-Canadian belle femme Mlle. Daisy Emerald Marguerite have been carrying on a long-distance affaire since the summer of 2011; they always conclude their correspondence with “nuzzles and purrrrrs”, hence the name and the text inside.

The inspiration for this card.

The inspiration for this card.

I photographed Mewsette and Giuseppe cuddling on my desk while I worked at my computer and posted them as a daily photo. So many readers immediately said “Valentine” that I thought I’d oblige with a design! And even though it’s Mewsette and not Mlle. Daisy, Mewsette looks so much like the lovely and dignified Mlle. that she is a stand-in when needed, and always knows when her brother needs a hug.

Text inside “Nuzzles and Purrs”.

The message inside is “NUZZLES AND PURRRRRS” in a really fun font. Card comes with choice of red or white acid-free envelopes which are inkjet/laser compatible.

  • Choice of red or white envelope, or a mix of both.
  • Price includes shipping.
  • If no choice is made, the default envelope color is red.

[ss_product id=’1c460cb0-df5a-11e6-8263-002590787d08′ ]Feline Valentine, “Nuzzles and Purrrrrs”[/ss_product]

Two Purple Cats.
“Purple Cats, Red Blanket”

“Purple Cats, Red Blanket”

This daily sketch was done in felt-tip ink technical drawing pen with watercolor washes, signed and dated 1/6/12, and pictures Jelly Bean and Mewsette using a red blanket I’d tossed to the landing for the laundry as a comfy impromptu cat bed.

Black cats, like white cats, have all sorts of colors in their fur, and in the day’s filtered sunlight their fur glistened with all sorts of highlights and shadows. The randomly shaped and wrinkled red blanket heightened the range of colors in their fur and even the neutral wood floor held random combinations in its old unfinished grain. Mostly, the composition was what attracted me in the first place: two similar heavy rounded shapes, the random soft shape and the smooth shape brought elements together in a very pleasing way.

The message inside is “Purr Hearts” in my handwriting and hand-drawn heart-pawprints.

“Purple Cats, Red Blanket”

“Purple Cats, Red Blanket” message inside.

These cards are 5″ x 7″ and are printed on 12 pt. gloss cover, uncoated inside, and nearly all have a message inside. Orders of a half dozen or more are packed in a clear-top vinyl greeting card box.

While it’s clearly a Valentine you can also use it for all-purpose greeting cards, sympathy, thinking of you, friendship, or find a frame for 5″ x 7″ images.

  • Choice of red, white or violet envelope, or a mix of both.
  • Price includes shipping.
  • If no choice is made, the default envelope color is red.

[ss_product id=’b28d9b84-df5a-11e6-87bc-002590787d08′ ]Feline Valentine, “Purple Cats, Red Blanket”[/ss_product]

Steal a Moment Valentine.
Steal a Moment With a Kitty You Love

Steal a Moment With a Kitty You Love

This photo was originally an unfocused mistake but I liked it better than the focused version, and so did many readers of The Creative Cat.

The message inside is “HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY”—imagine that!

Inside the card.

Inside the card.

Card comes with choice of red or white acid-free envelopes which are inkjet/laser compatible.

These cards are 5″ x 7″ and are printed on 12 pt. gloss cover, uncoated inside, and nearly all have a message inside. Orders of a half dozen or more are packed in a clear-top vinyl greeting card box.

This one is really just for Valentine’s Day.

  • Choice of red, white or violet envelope, or a mix of both.
  • Price includes shipping.
  • If no choice is made, the default envelope color is red.

[ss_product id=’e68cac54-df5a-11e6-9247-002590787d08′ ]Feline Valentine, “Steal a Moment”[/ss_product]

Silhouettes Valentine.
Silhouettes for Valentine’s Day.

Silhouettes for Valentine’s Day.

I originated this design as a Halloween card using autumn shades in October 2011, but with a little color change it suits Valentine’s Day. It features my photograph of the full Harvest Moon and the silhouettes of Jelly Bean and Mimi derived from a photo of the two.

Unlike all the others, this card is blank inside, ready for your message.

Card comes with choice of red or white acid-free envelopes which are inkjet/laser compatible.

These cards are 5″ x 7″ and are printed on 12 pt. gloss cover, uncoated inside, and nearly all have a message inside. Orders of a half dozen or more are packed in a clear-top vinyl greeting card box.

This one is really just for Valentine’s Day.

  • Choice of red or white envelope, or a mix of both.
  • Price includes shipping.
  • If no choice is made, the default envelope color is red.

[ss_product id=’01cdf0b8-df5b-11e6-8252-002590787d08′ ]Feline Valentine, “Silhouettes”[/ss_product]

"You're NEver Too Old"
You're never too old to fall in love!

You’re never too old to fall in love!

I’ve included this card in my Valentine post because, well, it’s all about love, isn’t it? When I sat down to design a sympathy card in the name of Emeraude , this idea kept coming back to me so I actually designed it first. Is this what Emeraude would say? I’m sure, and it’s likely what a lot of other senior kitties looking for a home would say as well. And it makes me smile. It’s a great sentiment to encourage the adoption of senior pets, and it might even come in handy for a few humans as well.

This card is blank inside, ready for your message.

Card comes with choice of red or white acid-free envelopes which are inkjet/laser compatible.

These cards are 5″ x 7″ and are printed on 12 pt. gloss cover, uncoated inside, and nearly all have a message inside. Orders of a half dozen or more are packed in a clear-top vinyl greeting card box.

  • Choice of red or white envelope, or a mix of both.
  • Price includes shipping.
  • If no choice is made, the default envelope color is red.

[ss_product id=’9bcc159e-df62-11e6-b790-002590787d08′ ]Feline Valentine, “You’re Never Too Old”[/ss_product]

Victoriana Cats, set.

Though these photos may look antique and sepia-toned, they are neither. My cats are perfect models and knew to pose in the bright yellow morning sun in front of my round antique mirror and the narrow casement window with the lace curtain. I applied a few Photoshop filters to the original photos to make them consistent in tone and style. On the back is the story of the photo.



  • 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.
  • Victoriana Cats feline photo 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

Use them for all-purpose greeting cards, sympathy, thinking of you, friendship, or find some shabby chic frames for 5″ x 7″ images and frame them for your walls.

Mewsette in the Mirror

Mewsette settles here every day after breakfast, quietly reflecting in the sun, a space of beauty in the brilliant yellow morning light, in the old cream lace curtain, the very old and slightly clouded, pitted mirror in its round antique gold frame, the time-worn wood of the wardrobe, and contemplative Mewsette, soft and rounded in her thoughts.

Mimi in the Mirror

Mimi, pensive at the morning window, reflected in the mirror, reflecting. The mirror is very old and slightly clouded, pitted here and there; I intentionally blurred the reflection, Mimi softened, the window and curtain rippled by the old glass, the mirror is real, but what is in it is memory, influenced by the medium itself. I’m sure rescued Mimi has many memories to reflect upon in the warm sun of a spring morning.

Sunrise

Giuseppe watches the yard, Jelly Bean soaks in the sun at the upstairs window facing east. Sunny early spring mornings are intoxicating for all of us. We all pause when we find ourselves in a sunny spot and simply appreciate the gift of the sun’s warmth and the promise of more beautiful days to come. The rounded mirror in the background brings to mind the rising of the sun over the horizon.

Don’t You Wonder What They Think

I know their thoughts are filled with beauty, to countenance an expression such as that. Mewsette has always been the dreamy member of the family, kind of like me; we can be together for long periods of time, just looking out the window, or watching shadows move across the floor.

 

WHOLESALE PURCHASE OF GREETING AND NOTE CARDS

Please ask about wholesale prices if you are interested in reselling my cards in your shop or you are an animal professional or other business and would like to make a bulk purchase for business correspondence.

The galleries below link to the original set of sympathy cards, the newer cards I’ve designed and the other sets of cards others have chosen from for sympathy (please understand some areas and galleries are still “under construction).

To now all but the fully handmade cards have been commercially printed, but with the introduction of this website I am offering custom printed cards—if one of my many cards isn’t quite what you’re looking for you can choose from a gallery of other likely images and have a custom single or quantity of cards printed just for you. One of the ways I’ve chosen which cards to have printed as greeting card is to see if an image is popular, and I’ll have them printed so they are always available.