Commissioned Portrait: General Keisha
My current portrait is a dilute calico named Keisha, or more properly “General” Keisha, who managed a large household of cats and a few humans years ago. She now lives in memory, and those memories are pretty fond of the big girl who was the boss. This portrait is for friend and fellow cat writer Tammy Banks, author of the award-winning book CatSong and feline-themed books Houdini, Souleiado and others as well as a book about humans, A Time for Shadows. She is also a long-time cat rescuer with a large household of rescued felines, and years ago and recently a very responsible breeder of Abyssinian cats. Keisha, nonetheless, ruled the feline roost for a long time.
When we discussed the portrait Keisha’s person said she’d like to have Keisha in the garden among flowers, and other than that I could choose from one of the photos in the envelope she’d sent, full of photos of Keisha in all her activities around the house. I laid out a composite made of all the photos I thought described Keisha and the garden.
There was one photo I’d particularly liked of Keisha rolling on the bed; I simply felt it described her well, a confident cat unafraid of being vulnerable.
Though I’d planned on her sitting up as the easiest way to show her in the garden full of flowers, I also had a photo of a stone garden bench from my friend Judi‘s garden that had the same feel as and could use the reclining photo, including the fact her elderly gray cat Houdini had been having a really good old cat nap on the bench.
I combined flower photos my customer had given me with photos I had from my own garden.
Here is the final composite created in Photoshop.
After working out all the details and getting to know Keisha through her photos, I decided on a somewhat informal watercolor portrait using watercolor pencils, which are much like colored pencils in size and waxy nature, but in contact with water will dissolve partially or completely allowing a range of effects of smooth color, brushwork and pencil lines. I laid down the color and then blend it with water using a watercolor brush, kind of a backward way of painting by putting the paint on the paper and then adding water to blend and soften rather than painting it right on the paper. I used my light table and lightly outlined all the major areas, then filled in areas with the watercolor pencil, blending dry as I went. Finally I began brushing water over them for the first draft, below.
I like the versatility of the watercolor pencils because it lays down the color much faster, and later I can still draw on the blended areas in various ways: by brushing on water so it’s very wet and the lines tend to dissolve right away, by wetting the pencil and drawing so the lines are softened, and also by sketching into the painting and leaving the lines as part of the work. Here is an archive of articles about other works I’ve done using watercolor pencil.
With good light I can now move to my “summer studio” and I’ve had the pleasure of working outdoors on my most recent portraits and other works. Of course, I am not without feline supervision, even on the deck.
Take a look at other portraits and read other stories
Read articles here on The Creative Cat featuring current and past commissioned portraits.
Read about how I create commissioned portraits.
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Visit my website to see portraits of my cats, commissioned cats, commissioned dogs, people or just browse a gallery of images and a demonstration of how I put a portrait together from photos.
Download a Brochure
My brochure is an 8.5″ x 11″ two-page full-color PDF that half-folds when it’s all printed out, showing examples of portraits with an explanation of my process and basic costs.
Purchase a Gift Certificate
Is there an animal lover on your list who has every cat or dog-themed t-shirt and handbag, and even their pets have every toy they can use for the rest of their natural lives? Consider a gift certificate for a commissioned portrait. Whether it’s for someone else or yourself, a custom portrait is different from a professional photograph because we can create the scene that you remember even if you never had the chance to photograph it. Your household of animal companions can be grouped in a natural setting even if their lives didn’t overlap.
I offer gift certificates for portraits in any denomination beginning at $50.00, which is the basic cost of an 8″ x 10″ black and white portrait; the recipient is responsible for any amount the portrait costs over the amount you’ve paid.
The certificate itself is 8.5″ x 11″ and features a collage of portrait images with the recipient’s and giver’s names, printed on parchment cover stock. The whole thing is packaged in a pocket folder and includes a brochure, a letter from me to the recipient and several business cards. The certificate package can be easily mailed or wrapped as a gift and shipped directly to your recipient.
I can also make it downloadable if you’re in a hurry.
Certificates are good for up to one year after issue, but I’ll usually honor them whenever they come along. It just makes my accounting easier if it’s within the same year.
Certificate Prices
I prefer to look over the work and price the portrait according to how much work will go into it, as described above, but you can either set a budget or get started by purchasing a certificate for yourself or as a gift.
“Certificate A” and “Certificate B” look the same, but this is for ease of ordering. I will write the amount on the certificate.
CERTIFICATE A $50.00
- Size: 8 x 10
- Subjects: One
- Color: black and white media such as charcoal, pencil, ink, or monochromatic media such as one color of pastel, watercolor, colored pencil, etc.
- Background or objects: none but a color or colored paper
CERTIFICATE B $100.00
- Size: 8 x 10
- Subjects: One
- Color: full color media such as pastel, watercolor, colored pencil, etc.
- Background or objects: none but a color or colored paper
Add to your certificate purchase
You can use the second drop down to add $50.00 or $100.00. For amounts over this I’m working out the easiest way to give options so it’s not too confusing.
[ss_product id=’ee6d37ec-349a-11e6-a43c-0cc47a075d76′ ]Commissioned Portrait Certificate[/ss_product]
Donation of Commissioned Portrait Certificates
As my way of giving to shelters, I donate a limited number of commissioned portrait certificates to shelters and rescue groups every year to sell or auction in their fundraisers. I usually donate a certificate worth $100.00, the minimum cost of a color portrait, and they typically auction for well more than that. The winner receives a presentation folder with the signed certificate, a thank you letter from me for supporting the organization, one of my brochures and the invitation to begin the process of a portrait of their design.
I have to limit the number of certificates I donate because of the amount of time I put into each portrait, but I also offer commissioned portrait certificates at a reduced cost to other shelters and rescues when my yearly quota is reached. I like to help as many organizations as I can, but the kitties need to eat too! Please contact me if you are interested.
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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. Subscribe to The Creative Cat Preview E-newsletter. © 2022 | 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!
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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!
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FACEBOOK | TWITTER | LINKEDIN | PINTEREST | TUMBLR | STUMBLEUPON | GOOGLE+ | EMAIL | PORTRAITS OF ANIMALS WEBSITE
Bernadette, you did a wonderful job. It’s so good to see my old friend again. And I still think it’s funny that you put a bench in there because there WAS a similar stone bench in my garden, very close to where Keisha is buried. I’d given it to a friend to make room for some irises..