Peaches and Peonies, pastel, 23" x 16" © 2008 Bernadette E. Kazmarski

Peaches and Peonies, Pastel

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



ABOUT THE ARTWORK

There it is, that moment that turns on all the lights for me…one of my cats in the sun, the conditions that have inspired most of my portraits. Cats are creatures of habit, and Peaches chose this spot to have her after-dinner bath every day for a few weeks when the sun was right; I knew it was a keeper whether a photo or a painting, so I photographed it several times over a period of several days, knowing I’d use at least one photo or all the photos as reference to create one painted image.

The painting illustrates a moment in my kitchen that I treasure because it includes Peaches, plus my painted white wood table with the vintage Battenburg lace table cover, three painted white chairs I’d picked up over the years and a hand-made white-painted cabinet that carried a story all on its own, plus a bouquet of peony flowers a friend had stopped and dropped off because she thought I’d like them. The reflections, the wrinkles in the cloth, everything is the memory of a part of my life, but so I’ve found, also familiar to others.

Keepsakes, votives and more

I’ve put Peaches and Peonies onto just about every gift item I make. Search “Peaches and Peonies” to find them all.

ABOUT PEACHES

Peaches came to my home at age 15, and despite my efforts to place her in a new home, she ended up staying with me. Most prospective adopters were concerned that Peaches was older and might not live long, but my point was that Peaches needed a home no matter what age she was. At the time this painting was done, she’d been with me three years, her petite prettiness, pleasant personality and simple friendliness providing much joy for me, and she was a big favorite of most visitors to my home. And then, she’s also the subject of not only this painting, but several other paintings and sketches as well as photographs, so in three years she provided a good bit of inspiration, not to mention wake-up duties and not-so-gentle reminders about it being dinnertime.

Peaches came to be homeless because her owner died; she was nearly euthanized because no one could figure out what to do with her, not wanting to take her to a shelter. Often, older pets come from situations like this, or where the owner has to enter the hospital or a care home, and no one can take the animal left behind. They are euthanized by the family or end up in shelters and are most often passed by, even though a “seasoned” pet usually makes the best companion.

Three years or three decades or three weeks, every adoptable animal like Peaches deserves a good and loving home. Especially now, during Adopt a Senior Pet Month, consider helping those who are most vulnerable.

SHIPPING

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

ORIGINAL PAINTING

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

GICLEE PRINTS

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

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

DIGITAL PRINTS

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

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

CANVAS PRINTS

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

SENIOR PET ADOPTION DONATION PROGRAM

Purchase a giclée of “Peaches and Peonies” and automatically make a donation to help senior pet adoptions.

You can read more about Peaches, who arrived here with her sister in June 2005 after their owner had died and all other possibilities for them had been exhausted.  They were called Angel and Rosebud then, but I renamed them Peaches and Cream, and though we lost Creamy just a few months later Peaches lived to be 20, and never looked back.

Through the purchase of a full-size giclee of “Peaches and Peonies”, $25.00 of your purchase price will be donated to the senior pet adoption program in your name or the name of your choice. And because many shelters and rescues don’t have a formal senior pet adoption program though many foster and rehome senior pets, I can be fairly liberal with who gets the donation, as long as it’s made in the name of a senior pet.

Giclée prints are printed on heavyweight acid-free archival paper with light-fast archival inks using a direct liquid printing process so fine that my prints are often indistinguishable from my originals. Each print is signed by me, the artist. I prefer this process not only because of its clarity and precision but also because I can order only one print at a time instead of ordering dozens or hundreds, and it costs the same per print no matter how many I get. For that reason I can order them from my printer as I receive orders instead of trying to keep them in stock and store them free of damage. It’s also the only way to get a clear and accurate full-size print of this painting.

  • Full-size, 23″ x 16″, $100.00 plus shipping
  • Half-size, 13″ x 9″, $75.00 plus shipping (see “framing” below)

You pay for the print and give me the name of the senior pet adoption program of your choice. I process your order and send a donation to the program in your name or the name of your choosing, and either ask them to send you an acknowledgement or send you one myself.

Shipping

I much prefer to ship prints flat, but I do ship the larger size rolled and the smaller flat.

 

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