Monday, March 18, 2024
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Daily Sketch Reprise: Kelly’s Bookish Bath, 2012

charcoal sketch of cat bathing
“Kelly’s Bookish Bath 1″, charcoal, 7″ x 10” © Bernadette E. Kazmarski

My third “daily sketch” ever! And as a bonus, I did two sketches. Shortly after this I decided to use smaller sketch books so I wasn’t compelled to fill the whole sheet, but for this I’m glad I have two sketches of Kelly on one sheet. She was a vigorous and constant bather.

It’s funny to me now how tentative my lines look, and how I wasn’t even sure about my sketchbooks at that point. I had a lot to learn, and Kelly had a lot to teach me as a model.

Kelly is very slender and wiry, and a true contortionist. She moves quickly in everything she does, and baths are particularly vigorous. But I love to watch her have a bath and I wanted to catch a few of her postures. Between her contortions and quick changes, I knew I’d have to have some plans of what I wanted—washing her face, and involved in a full twist—and be ready when the moment came because. When it did, it was kind of like the jump rope move where you watch the rope go around and around and wait for the moment you can jump in without being hit; I was watching and watching and watching before I began to jump in and draw, and even then I have some odd lines and a stray elbow, and all those lines on her back!

Usually, when my subject changes position enough from where I’d begun, I can finish the sketch from what I remember of seeing them, but Kelly’s postures are so contorted that I can barely figure things out when I’m looking at her.

She really does have a long tail, though, and tends to curl it around things, and she never fully sits down. She also needs to sit on something that is on something, which in this case is a stack of books. It could be one paperback, and she would be on it, so Kelly would always be on some object.

That was the first sketch on the page, and it was actually on the bottom edge of the 11″ x 14″ page. I had more space at the top of the page, a little more time and another Kelly posture to sketch, this time all four paws lined up and twisting around to clean her hip.

cat bathing on books
Kelly’s Bookish Bath 2, charcoal, © B.E. Kazmarski

This sketch is on the same page, above the other. I decided to split them up for explanation and so you wouldn’t have to scroll all the way down the page to get to the text.

Today I chose to use a charcoal pencil with darker, more definite lines, but which still allows the feathering and shading I like so much in pencil.

Of course, Kelly is a tortoiseshell, but there is no way I can catch her markings in a quick sketch, though with both her and Cookie I can often catch their distinctive facial and chest markings.


Click here to see other daily sketches.

For a gallery of the ones available for sale, visit Portraits of Animals in the “Daily Sketches” section.

Read about the reason for the daily sketches in Three Years of Daily Sketches.

And download your free desktop wallpaper calendar for computer or mobile, usually based on a daily sketch.

Desktop calendar, 1280 x 1024 for square and laptop monitors.
Desktop calendar, 1280 x 1024 for square and laptop monitors.

Gifts featuring cats you know! Visit Portraits of Animals

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charcoal sketch of cat kneading socks
“A Pile of Socks”, charcoal pencil, 9.5″ x 7″ © Bernadette E. Kazmarski

“Oh, thank you,” said Mr. Sunshine as he happily squinted and stepped into the pile of socks I was sorting and folding. “This is just…so nice…purrrrfect,” he said as he began purring loudly and kneading slowly and thoughtfully with both front paws.

Read more and purchase.



Copyright

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.


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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!

 
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Bernadette

From health and welfare to rescue and adoption stories, advocacy and art, factual articles and fictional stories, "The Creative Cat" offers both visual and verbal education and entertainment about cats for people who love cats, pets and animals of all species.

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