Thursday, March 28, 2024
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Commissioned Portraits: Pearle and Belle, Finished

“Pearle”, pencil on illustration board, 22″ x 28″ © Bernadette E. Kazmarski
“Pearle”, pencil on illustration board, 22″ x 28″ © Bernadette E. Kazmarski

Pearle’s portrait is finally completed, and I have both her portrait and that of her predecessor Belle here for a final finishing. You can read the first post about this portrait for a little more background information on these portraits, but this is the second portrait I’ve done for this customer; Belle was his first bichon frise and I did a similar portrait of her in 2001. Now there is Pearle and her portrait is the same size and style, and will be matted and framed identical to Belle’s portrait.

One thing we’ve decided to add to both is their name in a sort of script, which Pearle’s person left up to me and which is why I have Belle’s portrait here right now, so that I can take that portrait out of the frame and add her name. I love to draw my scripts so I worked up a style in pencil that I felt fit well with the style of the portraits.

The text of Pearle's name added to the center of the portrait.
The text of Pearle’s name added to the center of the portrait.

I will mention that these are phone photos and you’ll see some “gray areas”. Pencil is impossible to photograph without a set of lights to evenly illuminate the paper because the paper shows every single shadow. Typically I scan them, but I actually have to rearrange my studio to position my printer/scanner so that I can capture all of a drawing this large—22″ x 28″. I’ll be doing that when I finish the framing this weekend, but for now these are okay.

And here are the finished faces in Pearle’s portrait.

Expression 6
Expression 6
Expression 5
Expression 5
Expression 4
Expression 4
Expressions 2 and 3`
Expressions 2 and 3
Expression 1
Expression 1

. . . . . . .

Belle

Here is Belle’s original pencil portrait with her name added…

“Belle”, pencil on illustration board, 22″ x 28″, 2001 © Bernadette E. Kazmarski
“Belle”, pencil on illustration board, 22″ x 28″, 2001 © Bernadette E. Kazmarski

And a detail of the text itself.

The text added to Belle's portrait.
The text added to Belle’s portrait.

I’m so pleased to have this portrait completed and to see the two side by side—and to have the opportunity to scan the original portrait as well, which I’d done before having a scanner large or accurate enough to capture pencil.

On to the next ones, several to finish!


 

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.

Commissioned Cat Portraits

portrait of black cat on wicker chair
Samantha, pastel, 1994 © B.E. Kazmarski
Commissioned Dog Portraits

portrait of two dogs
Sophie and Ellie, pastel, 2009 © B.E. Kazmarski
Portraits of
My Cats

pastel painting of cat on table
After Dinner Nap, pastel, 1996 © B.E. Kazmarski

Visit my website to see portraits of my cats, commissioned cats, commissioned dogs, people and a demonstration of how I put a portrait together from photos.


Download a Brochure

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My Portraits 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

Sample Commissioned Portrait Certificate
Sample Commissioned Portrait Certificate

I offer gift certificates for portraits in any denomination beginning at $125.00, which is the basic cost of a portrait; the recipient is responsible for any amount the portrait costs over $125.00.

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.

Portrait certificates are a minimum of $125.00 because that is the minimum cost of a portrait.

Certificates are good for up to one year after issue.

You can purchase gift certificates here or from my Etsy shop if you are also purchasing other animal-inspired merchandise.

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You only need to enter an address if it is different from the address I’ll receive through PayPal. These are often surprise gifts and need to be shipped away from the home address to make sure they are a surprise.


Also browse Featured Artwork

I also feature artwork which has not been commissioned, especially my paintings of my own cats. If you’d like to read more about artwork as I develop it, about my current portraits and art assignments and even historic portraits and paintings, I feature commissioned portrait or other piece of artwork on Wednesday. Choose the categories featured artwork.


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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.


© 2015 | 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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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.

2 thoughts on “Commissioned Portraits: Pearle and Belle, Finished

  • B…expressions 4 and 6 are exceptional !!!! you did an awesome job on this portrait !! ♥♥ L

    Reply
    • Thanks so much Tabbies! I owe that to Pearle’s person who had lots and lots of photos.

      Reply

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