Disco and Brighton enjoying a sun puddle.

Of all the photos I’ve taken so far of people and animals at Blogpaws this one came out the best without any correction from Photoshop, so you get to meet Disco, a Sphynx, and Brighton, a Cornish Rex, wearing their conference casual clothes. Their fur sister, Coco, was staying in their carriage for the moment. I’ll post a few more photos of them and even their human when I get home and can play around with them. Sketches of these two coming up next!

Yes, I’m away for a bit, and having some serious issues with posting, not to mention what Mimi and the kids are probably saying behind my back!

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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 my Etsy shop or Fine Art America profile 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.

Inspired by felines you know! Visit Portraits of Animals on Etsy.

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Kelly has a request.

“This is wet. Can you dry it off for me?”

Who could turn down that beautiful face and especially those intensely green eyes? But as much as I’d give her the world, I’m not sure I can dry off the back yard for Kelly.

She doesn’t mind the wet flagstone and flowers, she really just wants to make sure it’s okay if she proceeds. I wanted to get a few more photos of her in the forget-me-nots before I have to cut that portion of my back yard. Torties look so beautiful in forget-me-nots.

Browse some rescued cats and kittens!

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 my Etsy shop or Fine Art America profile 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.

Inspired by felines you know! Visit Portraits of Animals on Etsy.

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Five Cats, pencil © B.E. Kazmarski

This includes all five of the black cats, not all at the same time, of course, I sketched them one by one as they moved around. I was also on the phone while I was sketching, but I was determined to get them in this activity. It was a very interesting way to focus, on a phone conversation and a sketch at the same time.

From the left is Mimi stepping down from the windowsill, the Giuseppe with his paws up on the sill next to Jelly Bean, sitting on the sill. In front are Mewsette and Mr. Sunshine.

Browse some rescued cats and kittens!

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 my Etsy shop or Fine Art America profile 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.

Inspired by felines you know! Visit Portraits of Animals on Etsy.

Inspired by felines you know! Visit Portraits of Animals on Etsy!

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“I keep dreaming of a big grassy field…”

I keep having this dream that I’m lying in a big field of tall grass, and the wind is blowing and the sun is shining. I can’t imagine where I’m getting that idea. I’ve never even been outdoors.

Mr. Sunshine is channeling my painting, “Apple Trees on a Windy Day”, on the easel above him. Read more about this painting in my shop on Etsy.

Browse some rescued cats and kittens!

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 my Etsy shop or Fine Art America profile 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.

Inspired by felines you know! Visit Portraits of Animals on Etsy.

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Garden flags are here!

Here is the first set of garden flags featuring my artwork!I was so excited at the first set of them that I put all of them in my front yard, at least for the photos. Even after I’d set up just the first flag it was gratifying to see it out there waving in the sun.

I chose designs that were popular and which people had requested, and I’ve found I’ve only just begun. Since these designs I’ve chosen a few more, and even enhanced several of these. All are two-sided, most have two different designs so you can turn them around and show something different, or you can put them along a walk and see both sides as you move in each direction.

These are digitally printed on a product called digital satin, a woven product intended for outdoor as well as indoor use. It’s heavier than the nylon most other flags are made of, but if I’m judging by the one I’ve had hanging out in my back yard since winter this is tough and durable material, no fading, scratches in the finish, fraying or wrinkling of the flag in any way. I’m sure, like any other product, if the flag is in direct sun for more than four hours per day it will eventually fade, but the testing worked better than I’d thought. You can read about the development of these flags as well as backyard testing and a photo shoot with Mimi and me in Backyard Product Development and Testing With My Assistant, Mimi.

As we had discussed, my friend Bonita at Distinctively Different Decor and More sewed the pockets into them, I photographed them and they debuted at our town’s “business crawl” on Friday, May 10 (after the storm that knocked my neighbor’s 70-foot maple into my yard and flipped Bonita’s tent where the jazz group was playing outdoors). Many people complimented them and a few were purchased. Aside from sharing her life with five cats Bonita is a professional interior designer and upholsterer and sewing is second nature to her. She expressed an interest in selling these and can easily sew the rod pockets and finish them for me. A partnership! I have other art and merchandise at Bonita’s boutique, these will be on display and available through her at 103 Chestnut St. Carnegie, PA 15106.

Two Cats After van Gogh flags

Following is a list of current designs linked to the daily sketch or painting:

In Afternoon Sun/In Afternoon Sun

Kitty in Pink/Kitty in Pink

Two Cats After van Gogh/In Window Light

Mimi Among the Geraniums 1/Mimi Among the Geraniums 2

Peaches and Peonies/After Dinner Nap

Stanley With Apple/White Cat Reflecting

The Roundest Eyes (white background)/The Roundest Eyes (yellow background), not pictured, still in production

The Goddess (white background)/The Goddess (yellow background), not pictured, still in production

First Light/First Light (this design looks very wintery to me so I won’t print quantities until late summer)

Below, Mimi is pretty pleased with how well-represented she is in our new product—five designs feature Mimi, so you fans of Mimi and of little black cats, you’ll have a lot to choose from!

Mimi is pretty pleased with her representation.

Read about creating custom items

Find out more about creating custom items for your own home using the images you see here. Visit the “Ordering Custom Art” page to see samples and read bout how to order.

Browse some rescued cats and kittens!

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 my Etsy shop or Fine Art America profile 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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Giuseppe looks out the big north window toward the land of Kings by the Great River where lives his love.

Black is the color of my true love’s hair,

Her lips are like a rose so fair—

The sweetest face, and the gentlest hands

I love the ground whereon she stands…

I sing for my love in Kingston for she has moved with her mama to a new apartment and I have not heard word for nearly forever.

I look to the northwest through the green leaves of spring to the blue sky above, knowing that we share the same sky and the same sun.

I love my love and well she knows:

I love the ground whereon she goes,

I wish the day it soon would come

When she and I would be as one…

She of the wondrous hair.

And so I sing through the open window into the springtime and hope my song reaches my sweet precious sleek black belle femme Mademoiselle Daisy Emerald Marguerite from the Canadian town named for kings next to the great river. Somehow I know, though she be surrounded by eligible black cats who actually enter her home as guests, that she wants me to be her love!

I know that soon I will have a reply…

Well, that was last year, and this year Mlle. Daisy Emerald Marguerite is moving back to the country! Giuseppe is very pleased and feels she will be much safer and happier there.

. . . . . . .

Read about Mlle. Daisy Emerald and the long-distance affaire between the mature French-Canadian feline lady and the young American opera star.

. . . . . . .

The lyrics to “Black is the Color of My True Love’s Hair” are traditional, arising from the Appalachian Mountains of Kentucky and first transcribed by John Jacob Niles in 1915, though the song form and the mention of the river Clyde likely refer back to Scotland, though there is no known form of the song in Scotland prior to the mid-twentieth century.

A few links to this song for those who asked.

The first version I ever heard, by Joan Baez, still my favorite.

The melody is different in the European version, here by Salmon’s Leap. Although the song was “discovered” in Kentucky by John Jacob Niles, it references Scottish towns and rivers and no doubt came from there originally. European singers didn’t care for the American melody either…

And the Nina Simone version—a great melody can be owned by everyone.

Browse some rescued cats and kittens!

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 my Etsy shop or Fine Art America profile 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.

Inspired by felines you know! Visit Portraits of Animals on Etsy.

Inspired by felines you know! Visit Portraits of Animals on Etsy!

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“Go away.”

Looks like Jelly Bean is about to knight Giuseppe with that characteristic paw on the ear.

Or perhaps they are about to cuddle with their paws wrapped around each other.

Or the boys are getting set up for a little wrestling match, one of Bean and Giuseppe’s favorite activities.

Whatever it is they plan on doing, they’d really like it if I left them alone so they could carry on without some human trying to get all the attention with her stupid pictures.

Okay, guys, I’ll go away, but just be careful what you ask for!

Browse some rescued cats and kittens!

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 my Etsy shop or Fine Art America profile 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.

Inspired by felines you know! Visit Portraits of Animals on Etsy.

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Morning Greetings from Cookie and Kelly, Cookie first, of course.

It began in the morning with the boys slacking off in an after-breakfast nap so the senior torties had to take over the greeting detail at the door when a customer came in. Kelly waits her turn as befits a less-senior tortie, but it’s a big step for a kitty who used to vaporize when a human other than Mom approached (even Mom sometimes if she was moving too fast).

Every human has to be approved before they can approach Mom. This guy has been dropping off work for about ten years so he was okay.

Then Big Brother showed up and while Mom finished up with a conference call Jelly Bean made the most of his visit. Mark has big hands and they can cover a lot of a kitty at one time, but he knows just how to scratch a kitty’s back too.

JB nearly stands on his toes for his back rub.

A little later in Mark’s visit he sat down again and Giuseppe, a little less brash than Jelly Bean in his approach, tried to make it look as if he was desperate for some pets as well.

Giuseppe wants a belly rub.

Then it was naptime all over again, Giuseppe settling down first, and Mr. Sunshine on top of him, necessitating Mom’s mid-afternoon break since she couldn’t work with the boys all over her papers (she moved them, but they came right back).

Giuseppe and Mr. Sunshine command my work area.

After their turn came Jelly Bean who is a little smaller and useful for holding papers.

Jelly Bean can make himself comfortable anywhere.

And finally, Cookie, exhausted, settled where she’d make the most impact.

Cookie is exhausted after a day of work.

How much work do you suppose I got done today?

(About as much as I ever get done…a very sweet memory of my household in 2011.)

Browse some rescued cats and kittens!

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 my Etsy shop or Fine Art America profile 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.

Inspired by felines you know! Visit Portraits of Animals on Etsy.

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Mewsette and Giuseppe intertwine faces, paws and tails in a sweet moment.

Browse some rescued cats and kittens!

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 my Etsy shop or Fine Art America profile 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.

Inspired by felines you know! Visit Portraits of Animals on Etsy.

Inspired by felines you know! Visit Portraits of Animals on Etsy!

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“Four Black Cats on a White Bed”, ink drawing pen, 9″ x 5″ © Bernadette E. Kazmarski

I was thinking in color today, but when I saw Mr. Sunshine, Mimi, Mewsette and Giuseppe curled up on the unmade bed, I saw the angles and wrinkles of the covers in simple, clear ink lines, and the silhouettes of the black cats against the white.

Their shapes had just the slightest amount of highlighted detail from the window light, just enough to see an ear or a nose, or to distinguish Mimi from Mewsette, and I had no idea how I would do that while still preserving their ink lines, which I love with this pen. The angled lines served to distinguish and describe their shapes, and just came naturally to my hand.

Jelly Bean was supervising me.

What was I sketching a year ago today?

I’ll Take Three Lumps

Three Lumps, charcoal pencil © B.E. Kazmarski

Lumps of coal, or lumps of sugar…see the original post and read more about this sketch.

Click here to see other daily sketches.

For a gallery of the ones available for sale, visit my Etsy shop in the “Cat Art and Prints” section.

Read about the reason for the daily sketches in One Year of Daily Sketches.

Browse some rescued cats and kittens!

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 my Etsy shop or Fine Art America profile 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.

112 total views, 2 views today