"Peaches and Peonies" and "Buckwheat" at Chartiers Custom Pet Cremations

Art in Place

"Peaches and Peonies" and "Buckwheat" at Chartiers Custom Pet Cremations

“Peaches and Peonies” and “Buckwheat” at Chartiers Custom Pet Cremation

One of the things I did today was to photograph urns and the business itself at Chartiers Custom Pet Cremation. The owner and I have become friends over the years, and we are also each others’ customers—I handle her website and public relations, and she is the person who receives my cats for cremation. She has a lovely living room setting where people can sit and talk and look at art and urns and books, and she is the only person who handles my cats and all other pets, no sending them out and not being sure who you’ve gotten back, very dignified and respectful. Here are a couple of details of the place.

I’ve always had two larger sketches hanging there, but last week I sold one of them—more about that in another post. I let Deb know about it last week and while she loved the ones she had, when I offered her “Peaches and Peonies” we both knew the painting would fit so well in her place that it was a natural choice. So today I also took down the older pieces and brought them home, and hung “Peaches and Peonies” and “Buckwheat” at Chartiers Custom Pet Cremation.

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

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

I painted “Peaches and Peonies” in 2008. I entered her in a few shows and also took her to most of the cat events where I’d displayed original artwork. In between all that, she’s hung over my work table in my studio watching over me.

In that time I’ve also had the chance to study exactly what I did when I painted that vase, the embroidered cloth, the peonies, Peaches aglow. It’s one of my best paintings and I went into it willingly, yet know knowing how to really handle the glass. I did it, though. No better way to learn. I still look at the folds of that cloth and my jaw drops when I study the light and shadow. I forget that it’s my kitchen.

I’ve had 10 years to study the painting, and I don’t create my artwork for me, I create it for others. I’m really happy that Peaches can be in a place where her beauty and the scene can bring comfort to those who are visiting Deb’s place because they have lost a beloved pet. Sometimes beauty is a salve, and I hope others can get lost in the embroidered cloth, glass vase, peonies and little Peaches and forget their grief for just a bit.

Buckwheat, pastel, 12 x 18, 2002 © Bernadette E. Kazmarski

Buckwheat, pastel, 12 x 18, 2002 © Bernadette E. Kazmarski

The other painting is my sample dog portrait, which has also traveled around to various venues so that people could see my technique and a finished, framed portrait, and also that I do paint dogs even though I’m such a cat person. I had photographed him too, and one of the things I wanted to catch was the constantly moving tail. I hope people who visit look into his liquid brown eyes and see the understanding there.

Working with my artwork

This is one of the activities that keeps me busy in ways to display and market my artwork. I don’t have art anywhere else at the moment, but at least in this place I know it’s appreciated.

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