Mariposa approves these votives.

Two New Seasonal Votives

Mariposa approves these votives.

Mariposa approves these votives.

Mariposa is pleased to introduce two new handmade votives for the holidays—and don’t worry about Mariposa’s nose, these votives come with an LED tealight, purrfectly safe for fluffy kitties with curious noses!

They feature this month’s featured feline and nature artwork, “Stained Glass Cats” and “Solstice”, this time on a 3.25″ round glass votive.

I etched the inside of the votive to better diffuse the light from the candle, then printed the design on a purchased clear vinyl label and burnished it onto the votive. Each votive comes with an LED tea light. Price includes shipping.

Stained Glass Cats Votive

Stained Glass Cats votive.

Here’s an idea that’s been occurring to me lately as I watch the cats in the sun by the dining room window in early May. I love the way the glass in a stained glass panel is shaded light toward the center of its shape, darker outside by the shadow from the lead between the shapes, and even the rippled quality of the color in many pieces of glass. I’d considered oil pastel for this but they weren’t handy when Jelly Bean, Mewsette and Giuseppe gathered in the late afternoon sun in the dining room window. The geranium leaves were aglow, shadows were deep and colorful, and each cat is its unique color. I followed the simplified shapes and colors I saw through squinted eyes.



Solstice Votive

Solstice votive.

Solstice votive.

This painting is indeed from the Winter Solstice in 2003. As the sun began to set on a zero-degree day with a foot or more of snow the light was so beautiful that I took off in my car with my camera and art supplies. At the top of the hill the gentle pink and coral tones of the sunset melded with the blue of dusk on the field of unbroken snow at the old Christmas tree farm, one of my favorite spots. It was too cold to draw outside since I can’t wear gloves and would soon be dropping my pastels in the snow, so I positioned my car on a convenient side road and sketched this in my front seat. As it does sometimes, the sun seemed to hang in the trees just before it disappeared: solstice, “sun-stand-still”.

The moment when the sun stands still,
as it seemed to at this frigid, snow-covered
winter dusk,
spruces standing dignified sentinel
to the moment
of transition.

It’s just a little thing, 6″ x 6″, one of my favorites, especially now that the place is gone to development. It became the inspiration for an exhibit I hosted in 2004, “Winter White”.

And this painting, which I’ve always loved so much, has a wonderful home with a friend who also loves it very much.

(This is another of those beautiful places that isn’t there anymore.)

OTHER VOTIVES

Find other votives featuring cats, butterflies, flowers, nature and wildlife in my Handmade Gifts Gallery or search “votives”.

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!

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

All images used on this site are copyrighted to Bernadette E. Kazmarski unless otherwise noted and may not be used without my written permission. Please ask if you are interested in using one in a print or internet publication. If you are interested in purchasing a print of this image or a product including this image, check to see if I have it available already. If you don’t find it there, visit “purchasing” for availability and terms.

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