Daily Sketch Reprise: Fingerpaint Cat, 2014

February 20, 2019 Bernadette

"Fingerpaint Cat", soft pastel dust on my fingers, 5.5" x 8.5" © Bernadette E. Kazmarski — “Fingerpaint Cat”, soft pastel dust on my fingers, 5.5″ x 8.5″ © Bernadette E. Kazmarski

Working on my pastel paintings is often like fingerpainting for me—blend a lot of pastel onto the paper, then swirl it around with my fingers. Often each finger is responsible for its own color, coated and caked with a solid layer of pastel. So what do I do with the pastel on my fingers, and that’s dropped onto a piece of paper to catch the dust before it hits the floor? Giuseppe was conveniently sleeping in the doorway, I picked up my sketchpad in my very pastel-covered fingers and went to work. Tracing his shape with my fingertips was a unique and very deep experience in my connection with Giuseppe, unlike using a brush or pencil or pastel stick or anything else that creates even a bit of a distance between me and my subject.

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"Mimi Sitting", compressed pastel on toned paper, 5" x 7" © Bernadette E. Kazmarski — “Mimi Sitting”, compressed pastel on toned paper, 5″ x 7″ © Bernadette E. Kazmarski

I love views of my cats from above. Perhaps that’s because most often that’s the angle from which I see them. I was actually waiting for Mimi to pause so that I could get a start on a sketch. I saw so many highlights and reflected tones on her and as soon as she decided to just sit still I began to sketch. Promptly she noticed me, got up and left the room, came back in and got up on my lap so I finished it from memory, missing much of the reflected highlights. As soon as I finished, she got back down on the floor. She was pretty clear in her message! I sketched her anyway. Read more and order.

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All images and text used on this site are copyrighted to Bernadette E. Kazmarski unless otherwise noted and may not be used without my written permission, although links to your site are more than welcome and are shared. Please ask if you are interested in using and image or story in a print or internet publication. If you are interested in purchasing a print of an image or a product including it, check my animal and nature website Portraits of Animals to see if I have it available already. If you don’t find it there, visit Ordering Custom Artwork for more information on a custom greeting card, print or other item.