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Commissioned Portraits: Samantha, and Honey, Tommy and Andy, Two Eras

pastel portrait of black cat
“Samantha”, pastel, 23″ x 19″, 1994 © Bernadette E. Kazmarski

THERE HAS NOT been another kitty since Samantha, though her rescuer had loved and rescued cats nearly all her life. Sometimes a memory is too dear, and time must pass before the heart is ready for another love. In this case it was the human who was rescued just as much as the feline, and there was a very special family of felines before Samantha who inspired her rescue.

. . . . . . .

During a visit to a friend who had cats, Samantha’s mom realized she needed the love and affection a cat provides. At a local Humane Society she saw this tiny kitten alone in a cage. Her large yellow eyes begged her mom to save her. The kitten was very small and delicate, her coloring totally black with very fine silky fur; asking the attendant, she learned the kitten was a Burmese and was the runt of a litter. She picked up the kitten who immediately cuddled on her shoulder and she was in love! Then she thought it would be nice for the kitten to have a playmate and selected another kitten, holding both in her arms. The Burmese would have none of this and hissed at the other kitten, possibly due to her bad experiences being bullied by her litter mates. Deciding the kitten needed her as much as she needed the kitten, she took the kitten home, named her Samantha, and had 19 wonderful years with her.

. . . . . . .

And the May quote:

Who can believe that there is no soul behind those luminous eyes! ~ Theophile Gautier

. . . . . . .

Here is May with Samantha’s portrait and rescue story in Great Rescues Day Book:

May in Great Rescues Day Book.
May in Great Rescues Day Book.

About the portrait of Samantha, and the felines who came before her

There has not been another kitty in this person’s life since Samantha. Sometimes a memory is too dear, and time must pass before the heart is ready for another love. Above is Samantha’s rescue story, but there were also rescued cat who came just before her who led Samantha’s rescuer to adopt her.

This portrait is also special for me, not only because Samantha is a lovely little house panther, but because in the rendering somehow I managed to surpass anything I’d done to date. I painted it just about this time of year, 21 years ago and it’s wonderful to look back on that time in my life as an artist, and as a pet portrait artist, and celebrate that anniversary. This was very early in my art career, just two years after I’d begun formally painting pet portraits, and I still didn’t feel entirely confident in what I was doing but I worked through a whole flood of doubts as I painted Samantha’s portrait, and that gave me a level of self-confidence I’ve carried since.

detail of portrait of black cat
Closeup of Samantha in her chair.

Creating the portrait

I never met Samantha for all the times I visited this person’s home, though she was still around but in her late teens when I painted the portrait, and not feeling well. I knew Samantha was 19 years old and her person was being protective, and that was fine with me. But I remember when she showed me the reference photo for the portraits—I worked with her and I’d seen her enlarged photos of the beaches she’d visited, so I knew she had an eye for photography—but this photo was so perfectly posed and lighted I couldn’t wait to get started. Samantha’s mom remembers taking the photo, just capturing that moment when Samantha awoke and gazed around sleepily, relaxed and content, in her wicker chair with soft light coming in the sliding glass door. In the photo Samantha was still fairly dark as black cats tend to be, but she knew I had my Kublai as a model and could properly highlight her face and fur.

Seeing the wicker chair and assuming it was one of the larger fan-back chairs I thought Samantha was a much larger kitty, but when I stopped at her condo to talk about the portrait and saw Samantha’s chair I was surprised it was one of the tiny ones, and Samantha was quite petite, much like Mimi is. In fact, Mimi reminds me very much of her.

And though the elements were all there, much still needed to be changed to make it a good piece of artwork, and that was where the doubts came in. For one thing the pillows were entirely different colors but she had changed her decor from blue and cream to mauve and seafoam, and though I’d gotten the pillows pretty much done already she asked me if I could change the colors to match her decor. Visualizing something that’s in front of you in another color entirely and being able to render that realistically can be a mind-bending experience. Sounds simple, but I’d never done it before. Well, so, I learned how to do that.

detail of portrait of black cat
Detail of Samantha’s portrait.

That color adjustment changed my ideas for the background. Behind and under the chair were art and boxes and such, but I’d planned a swirly background of shades of blue and was itching to get to it. Blue obviously didn’t work and I didn’t want to do just green or mauve so I decided to blend them all together. I’d never done this in a painting but the experiment worked well and is one of the background techniques I still use today.

detail of portrait of black cat
Detail of background.

And then that wicker! Wicker is so familiar but what a tangled mess it suddenly appeared to be! I set aside impatience and focused on just what I saw. I was still beginning a portrait by enlarging my image to full size—in that day small portraits were enlarged on the copier but larger ones were done with my photo projector that I also used for painting signs. In this case I used the projector and traced it out on tracing paper, then smudged chalk all over the back of it and traced my pencil lines onto my sheet of drawing paper. At that time my chosen drawing paper was Canson Mi-Tientes which has a distinct laid pattern that was difficult to overcome and a working surface I still find particularly unforgiving. Getting the background and all those wicker weavings smooth was so time-consuming, but at least I had the outlines on my paper as I was focusing on one strand of weaving at a time.

detail of portrait of black cat
Detail of wicker at bottom.

And then as now, I work the portrait evenly all over, as a rough fill with color, then two or three successive levels of detail worked into the image, finding it easier to work the details consistent that way. The last thing I do is the main subject so that I can finish off their “edges” which is usually a texture of fur against the background, and the most important part, their face. This is especially important with a black cat since pastel, being dusty, blows all over the place and all those lighter colors lay on top of whatever is there, and if I’ve “finished” the subject I have to do it over again. In this case I also had to be sure the dark shades I’d used for Samantha didn’t dust off onto the pillows too.

One of the reasons I always say this portrait was a turning point for me is that I finally was able to release myself from each tiny color and drawing decision as a logical decision and just let go and paint. Of course, when I stand there in front of a piece of paper with my pastels or whatever medium I make decisions of what colors to use and blend and how to build the shapes and shadows with blending or hard quick lines or something in between. But I remember working on Samantha’s face, specifically her eyes, then deciding to take a break and coming back a few minutes later to look at what I’d done. I looked at the shading in her eyes and really had no recollection of having done what was there, though it was just minutes before. Finally, what I saw with my eyes came right out my hands with no conscious intervention from me, and letting my creative mind make the decisions results in a far better portrait than one in which I’d determined each minute detail. For an example of comparison, look at “Waiting for Mom”, the painting of Fawn under the bed I’d done in 1988, the very first one I’d done in this realistic style, and though there were a few little leaps of faith in it most of it was very planned; this doesn’t mean it’s not a good painting, in fact all these years later I still feel it’s one of my best, but compared to Samantha it feels a little stiff. Once that door was open, that little neurological path from my eyes to my hand that bypassed the logical part of my brain, it stayed open, and this happens all the time without realizing. I continue to develop it through my daily sketches.

detail of portrait of black cat
Detail of Samantha’s face.

I continued to look at Samantha’s eyes and face, and even later seeing things I didn’t even remember doing, colors applied, blends and clarified edges I hadn’t consciously decided to create, the clarity of her eye in front of her pupil and the shadows and highlights within her eye, highlights on her face and paw, I didn’t know how I’d done this. For this reason for many years Samantha was the signature of my business, on my business card and brochure, until I decided to use the portrait of Stanley, which is my signature portrait now.

Another portrait at the same time

Though there has not been another kitty since Samantha, there were lots of kitties before. In fact, when I painted Samantha’s portrait, I also painted another of three cats she had known before and who were, in part, the ones who led her to Samantha. Below is a scan of a 3.5″ x 5″ photo of that portrait, the best I have though I’d tried to photograph it through the glass as I did Samantha’s portrait. You’ll just have to trust that all the details are there.

three tabby and white cats
Honey, Tommy and Andy

Honey, Tommy and Andy were mom, son and daughter from back in the days when we didn’t necessarily spay and neuter our cats, and they were three of a long line of cats before them. While Honey had other kittens this little family of three was a perfect combination: Honey, though petite, was decidedly the boss; Tommy, big and rangy was as sweet as candy; and little Andy playful and affectionate.

Honey, in the front, was the mother, and Tommy on the left and Andy on the right were two of her kittens. “Honey was tiny, but she was the boss, definitely the leader,” Samantha’s mom said, remembering the three cats. “Tommy was big but as gentle as a kitten—Honey used to boss him around—and Andy was sweet and playful. We were definitely a family,” she continued. Honey lived into her late teens, outliving both her children, and after that the home was without cats for a while, and then she found Samantha.

Planning the portraits

When we planned the two portraits, Honey, Tommy and Andy would be “in heaven”, so they look as if they are in the clouds.

When we ultimately chose Samantha’s pose, that one perfect photo of her awakening from a nap on her little wicker chair, nestled among pillows in the sun, she was looking upward at just the right angle that when we hung the portraits on the landing in her home she was indeed looking up at them, and thanking them for leading the way for her mom to find her.

And not only does the heart hold the memory dear, but also the things attached to the memories. Samantha’s mom still has the little wicker chair, even today, knowing it’s just an object, just a part of all the things Samantha touched in her home, she’ll always keep it as part of the memory of Samantha.

What I learn from my portrait families

After the portrait was completed her person told me that Samantha had developed renal failure, and that she was giving her subcutaneous fluids on a regular basis. I had begun working with the house call vet I still use today, and had given her information to Samantha’s person, and the veterinarian had set her up at home with a fluid bag and instructed her how to administer the fluids. I’ve administered fluids plenty of times since then, but at that time I had not and was greatly intimidated when my black cat, Kublai, needed them two years later. I remembered Samantha and her mom, and that gave me the reassurance if they could get through it, I could do it too. I’ve learned so much from both the cats I’ve painted and the persons who’ve loved them.

The heart is sensitive after caring for a loved one through a sustained or chronic illness as well, less likely to take risks in many ways. I had no lack of adoptable felines in those days and Samantha’s person and I considered several, but a dramatic change in schedule just didn’t allow for another adoption for quite a few years after she lost Samantha. Our employer began reorganizing the company nationwide, and she was given an opportunity that required her to travel frequently and for several days, even weeks, at a time. In a way, it was an antidote to the suddenly empty home.

While many kitties were presented and could have done well with her travel schedule, the memory of Samantha’s long decline into kidney failure and the final months of administering subcutaneous fluids herself at home made her consider what she would do if a feline illness presented itself while she was traveling. Risky; best not take the chance, at least until the traveling is over. Sometimes that is the best decision, especially as the months turned into years.

The cover of the original Great Rescues Calendar and Gift Book
The cover of the original Great Rescues Calendar and Gift Book

Choosing Samantha as the cover kitty

At left is the original edition of Great Rescues Calendar and Gift Book, on which Great Rescues Day Book is based. It was a 16-month calendar and only 8″ x 8″ and where the day book is larger and has a printed cover I had bigger ideas for the first edition of this book.

I had visualized this project, cover and all, for over a decade, and in a corner of my mind I had always pictured Samantha on the cover, possibly because she had also been on my brochure and her portrait meant so much to me as an artist. I knew I wanted to use a warm, rich color for the cover, dark enough to support the foil stamped text I had in mind. I had initially used the portrait of Bandit because of the red in his portrait and how I love that portrait as well, but my heart went for the little black kitty and the portrait that had changed my outlook on my career as an artist.

Samantha’s mom agreed for Samantha to be on the cover; it’s one thing to be in the book, quite another to be on the cover and therefore see your kitty’s portrait all over the place as I promote the book. I knew how she felt about Samantha still, after all these years, and that might be painful. In the end, it’s a joy for her to have a copy forever on her coffee table so she can not only look at her portraits on the wall, but her copy of the calendar in her living room.

That original book had a die-cut cover as well, so the actual outside was a heavy stock with the title and cover text printed in gold foil, and the portrait of Samantha was printed on lighter gloss cover on the page underneath. The cover was actually printed on black-core mat board, which was the best solution I could find to the color and style I wanted. I just wanted something a little different, and it was. And I know Samantha’s portrait on any cover is eye-catching.


Mother’s and Father’s Day Commissioned Portrait Special

I’m offering 25% off the purchase of a portrait certificate or a commissioned portrait that is booked between now and June 30, 2018, whether it’s for mother, father, grandparents or any of those special persons who encouraged your love of animals, even for yourself. Use the coupon code MOTHERSFATHERSDAY25. Read more here.


Read about other current Commissioned Portraits and 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.


Take a look at other portraits and read other stories

Read articles on The Creative Cat featuring current and past commissioned portraits.

Read about how I create commissioned portraits.


Gifts featuring cats you know! Visit Portraits of Animals

AfterDinnerNap-Etsy

Fine ArtPhotographyGiftsGreeting CardsBooksCommissioned Portraits & Artwork

Great Rescues Day Book:
Portraits, Rescue Stories, Holidays and Events, Essential Feline Information, All in One Book

day book with cat portraits
Great Rescues Day Book

Each month features one of my commissioned portraits of a feline or felines and their rescue story along with a kitty quote on the left page, and on the right page the month name with enough lines for all possible dates, with standard holidays and animal-themed observances and events. Great Rescues also includes a mini cat-care book illustrated with my drawings including information on finding strays or orphaned kittens, adopting for the first time or caring for a geriatric cat, a list of household toxins and toxic plants, or helping stray and feral cats and beginning with TNR.

Each book includes also 10 sheets of my “22 Cats” decorative notepaper with a collage of all the portraits in black and white so you can make your own notes or write special notes to friends.

The portraits in this book, collected as a series, won both a Certificate of Excellence and a Muse Medallion in the 2011 Cat Writers’ Association Annual Communication Contest, as well as the 22 Cats Notepaper mentioned below.

Read more and order.



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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© 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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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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