“Bella Birdwatching”, black and white charcoal on gray toned paper, 5.5″ x 8.5″ © Bernadette E. Kazmarski

“Bella Birdwatching”, Charcoal on Toned Paper

The original has already been sold, but, signed prints of “Bella Birdwatching”, Charcoal on Toned Paper, 5.5″ x 8.5″ are made in archival inks on various media.



ABOUT THE ART

So Bella is an avid birdwatcher. She spends long hours by the big north window watching the birds at the feeder. I spend long hours studying her profile while she does so. I decided to finally sketch her and thought of the toned paper with white and black charcoal, and I also added a bit of pale yellow green in her eye.

Of course, I didn’t sketch this while she watched birds. She never really keeps still, but I did get a good outline while watching and added all the details from photos open on my computer screen, holding my sketchbook as if I was sketching from life. I always want to be able to keep that extemporaneous feel to my sketches, and so even if I complete one later from photos I’ll try to mimic the conditions of sketching from life as much as possible. But I wanted to be certain to capture that short little face, delicate chin, the swept-back ears and whiskers, the highlights as the reflected north light washed her face and the window was reflected on her eye, and her paws, at rest, but ready at any moment to leap up and fly at the window screen.

 

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.

FRAMED PRINT

This sketch was framed with 1″ warm white rough finish wood, and a natural white 2-1/2″ top mat with 1/4″ purple bottom mat. Backing is acid-free foam core and the glass premium clear glass. All framing is custom and is done by me in my studio. I can also offer other options for mat and frame if you are interested, please ask.

GICLEE PRINTS

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

I don’t keep giclee prints in stock for most of my works. Usually I have giclees printed as they are ordered unless I have an exhibit where I’ll be selling a particular print so there is a wait of up to two weeks before receipt of your print to allow for time to print and ship. The giclees have 2″ of white around the outside edges.

DIGITAL PRINTS

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

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

CANVAS PRINTS

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

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.