Thursday, March 28, 2024
black catscat artworkcat merchandisecatsDaily Featuredesktop calendarfeatured artworkillustrationsinkwatercolor

January Featured Artwork and Desktop Calendar: “First Light”

ink drawing with watercolor of cat on windowsill
“First Light”, brush pen and watercolor, 7″ x 9″ © B.E. Kazmarski

Mimi on the bathroom windowsill, watching the birds and the branches in the first light of dawn.

I have a real softness for watching Mimi looking out on a life she used to live in inhospitable weather, on mornings frosty, icy, rainy, hot and humid when she ran the streets and fed her kittens. I’ve sketched her and written poems about her  in this, and another part of it came together in this sketch.

And beyond Mimi, I also remember seeing many other rescues looking out the window at a life they once lived. It’s one of my favorite subjects for art and photography, and one of the things that makes all the time and trouble of rescuing worth it.

Here’s what I said about creating this sketch in November 2012:

This is a little more than a sketch, but I wanted to pursue the idea I saw as I finished my shower. Mimi moved around as I quickly snapped a photo, grabbed a robe, dried my hands and got my watercolor pad and brush pen from my studio right next door for the sketch I had so completely visualized.

She had moved to follow me but complied by settling back on the windowsill when I came back in the room. I quickly sketched her as I remembered her, using her details in the crouching position she had taken. She was bored with me and long gone when I finished the window. I turned my back and added the branches as I visualized, concerned if I continued looking at the real ones outside the window I’d draw them all in and I didn’t want that. I ended up waiting until evening, just a little while ago, to add the watercolor washes.

So there’s the whole story, born over a few weeks of watching Mimi on the windowsill.

And years of memories of watching other cats enjoy the morning here.

~~~

First Light 8" x 10" wood-mounted print
First Light 8″ x 10″ wood-mounted print

Where to find “First Light”

You can find “First Light” in my Etsy shop as a print in various forms:

To find all the items available with “First Light” search “first light” in the search bar in my shop.


This month’s desktop calendar

I’ve worked this image into a desktop calendar for you to enjoy and use for the entire month. Looking at the downloads from previous months and averaging out which dimensions fit which devices, I have reduced the number of variations from 12 to four. 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

  1. Click on one of the images below that matches the dimensions of your monitor to open the image in a new page.
  2. 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.
  3. 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

"First Light" desktop calendar 2560 x 1440 for HD and wide screens.
“First Light” desktop calendar 2560 x 1440 for HD and wide screens.

. . .

Square monitors and screens

“First Light” desktop calendar, 1280 x 1024 for square and laptop monitors.
“First Light” 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.

"First Light" desktop calendar, 600 x 800 for iPad, Kindle and other readers.
“First Light” desktop calendar, 600 x 800 for iPad, Kindle and other readers.

. . .

Cell Phones and Smartphones

"First Light" desktop calendar, for 400 x 712 for mobile phones.
“First Light” 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.

If you are interested in a print of this image, check my Etsy shop 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.


Subscribe to my e-newsletter

Subscribe to The Creative Cat Preview E-newsletter.


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.


© 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!

FACEBOOK | TWITTER | LINKEDIN | ETSY SHOP | PINTEREST | TUMBLR | STUMBLEUPON | GOOGLE+ | EMAIL

HOME


Friendship Friday on Create With Joy

Friendship Friday.
Friendship Friday.

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.

4 thoughts on “January Featured Artwork and Desktop Calendar: “First Light”

  • This is Pawsome ! Thank you
    and Happy New Year !!!

    Reply
    • 2222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222

      Reply
    • Well, Simon was into his numbers just now :), that’s what he had to say!

      Reply

Leave a Reply

%d bloggers like this:
Verified by ExactMetrics