“Bella Birdwatching” revised photo reproduction (more accurate), black and white charcoal on gray toned paper, 5.5″ x 8.5″ © Bernadette E. Kazmarski
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.
Below is a detail of her face.
“Bella Birdwatching” detail.
And here is what Bella thought of the whole ordeal.
Can I just watch birds without the whole internet knowing?
Hope you enjoy it this month!
“Bella Birdwatching” matted sample.
Get a free matted print when you register for an account
And don’t forget to register for an account on Portraits of Animals and get a free matted print of this sketch or choose from several other sketches, paintings or photos of cats and other subjects.
This print is only available as a new member gift during this month while it’s the featured artwork and desktop calendar, so make sure you sign up before the end of the month!
This month’s desktop calendar
If these sizes don’t work for your device, or if you have problems, please let me know. Often I can troubleshoot the reason an image won’t download or won’t load on your device, but if I just can’t figure it out I can just email it to you and hope that works.
How to download and use your desktop calendar
- Click on one of the images below that matches the dimensions of your monitor to open the image in a new page.
- For desktop computers and laptops, right-click on that image and on a desktop computer choose “save as desktop wallpaper” or “save as background” or whichever option your operating system gives you to be able to do this. You may also simply save it to your hard drive and set it as your background from there.
- For mobile devices, download the image to your gallery then choose it as your wallpaper—this is slightly different on all devices.
Horizontal and HD monitors and screens
“Bella Birdwatching” desktop calendar 2560 x 1440 for HD and wide screens.
. . .
Square monitors and screens
“Bella Birdwatching” desktop calendar, 1280 x 1024 for square and laptop monitors.
. . .
Small Mobile Devices and Tablets
Click here to subscribe to The Creative Cat on your Kindle.
“Bella Birdwatching” desktop calendar, 600 x 800 for iPad, Kindle and other readers.
. . .
Cell Phones and Smartphones
“Bella Birdwatching” desktop calendar, for 400 x 712 for mobile phones.
Take a look at other featured artwork and desktop calendar posts.
Each month I feature a piece of feline artwork from the archives to the present day, discuss its history and process, and set it up as a free downloadable desktop calendar for just about every electronic device available.
Click here to see daily sketches, click here to see daily photographs
click here to see other artwork featured on The Creative Cat
or visit Fine Art and Portraiture on my main website.
Subscribe to my e-newsletter
Subscribe to The Creative Cat Preview E-newsletter.
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.
“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. . . . . . . . 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. 
Don’t miss any new items or opportunities!© 2022 | www.PortraitsOfAnimals.net | Published by Bernadette E. Kazmarski
© 2016 | www.TheCreativeCat.net | Published by Bernadette E. Kazmarski
—
Weekly schedule of features:
Sunday: Essays, Pet Loss, Poetry, The Artist’s Life
Monday: Adoptable Cats, TNR & Shelters
Tuesday: Rescue Stories
Wednesday: Commissioned Portrait or Featured Artwork
Thursday: New Merchandise
Friday: Book Review, Health and Welfare, Advocacy
Saturday: Your Backyard Wildlife Habitat, Living Green With Pets, Creating With Cats
And sometimes, I just throw my hands in the air and have fun!
—
Her name suits her well…Bella…beautiful…
You know…that touch of color in her eye makes the whole sketch come alive…