Thursday, March 28, 2024
cat artworkdaily sketchkellytortoiseshell catswatercolor

Daily Sketch Reprise: Colorful Kelly, 2012

watercolor pencil drawing of tortoiseshell cat
“Colorful Kelly”, watercolor pencils © Bernadette E. Kazmarski

This sketch totally surprised me—I’d never done a thing like it before. Inspired by Kelly awaking from a nap on my desk I’d been about to try out these watercolor pencils while she was sleeping. I discovered that what I thought was black was navy blue and decided to go ahead. I’m so glad I did. It captures Kelly in a very special way.

So pretend the blue is black, as I discovered the set does not have a black pencil, but here is tortie Kelly sleeping on my desk. I don’t mind the blue because it’s a complement of orange, the other tortie color, even though the orange here looks like a dark red. But as long as she has the round green eyes and the big rounded ears, she’s my Kelly, and it’s a bonus that she has the little hind paw with the toes spread and the front paw curled so she can bathe it.

This is watercolor pencil again, more fun each time…if only my scanner had a better eye for blue.

The next morning…

I was unhappy with the colors in this—the blue was too purple and the orange was just too dark, no one was really seeing what I was seeing so as soon as the sun was bright enough I too the little painting outside to photograph in natural daylight. Compare for yourself and see if you can find the differences.

watercolor of tortoiseshell cat
Colorful Kelly (same painting, photographed instead of scanned), watercolor pencil © B.E. Kazmarski

Watercolor is difficult because it’s transparent and when scanning, and even photographing, the light shines through it to the nearest opaque surface, which is the paper. Everything from ambient light in the room to anything else that’s in the shot or in the scan can influence the color balance.

And even with this, the sunlight was still too “warm” that early and the whites were a little shadowed; I could photograph it again later this afternoon and it would be different again.

Yikes! Sometimes I spend more time trying to get a good image of my little sketches than I spend actually creating them, but it’s all worth it. Colorful Kelly was very much worth all the effort since she was popular no matter the color balance, and I can see a lot of potential for her!

. . . . . . .

"Colorful Kelly" orignal matted and framed.
“Colorful Kelly” original matted and framed.

Where to find this artwork

I have sold the original but made certain to have a set of accurate prints made first.

I have signed digital prints, gicleés and canvas prints 5″ X 7″ and larger.

keepsake box with cat
Colorful Kelly Keepsake Box

I liked the framing on the original so much that I also have a print framed like the original with white top mat and cobalt blue second mat and 1.5″ flat painted white frame.

Prints are on Portraits of Animals.

“Colorful Kelly” has also been popular as a wood-mounted print and as a keepsake box. I will be preparing more of these as spring arrives. You can always search Portraits of Animals for “Colorful Kelly” to see what’s available or send me an email to request a custom product.


Click here to see other daily sketches.

For a gallery of the ones available for sale, visit Portraits of Animals in the “Daily Sketches” section.

Read about the reason for the daily sketches in Three Years of Daily Sketches.

Download your free desktop wallpaper calendar for computer or mobile, usually based on a daily sketch.

And don’t forget that each month’s Featured Artwork is also one of the free prints available on Portraits of Animals when you sign up for an account.

Desktop calendar, 1280 x 1024 for square and laptop monitors.
Desktop calendar, 1280 x 1024 for square and laptop monitors.

"Feline Style Sampler" book of sketches and portraits.

A collection of 34 images of feline artwork

Feline Style Sampler

Daily sketches, illustrations, commissioned portraits all in a small coil-bound gift book.

Click here or on the image to read more or find this book on Portraits of Animals.


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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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Gifts Featuring Cats You Know!

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Buy an Original or Print of a Daily Sketch from Portraits of Animals!

My Cats on Portraits of Animals
My Cats on Portraits of Animals

In over three years of daily sketches I created a little over 1,000. Most originals are still available, and prints are available from all of them, even greeting cards and note cards too. Visit my gallery of daily sketches to see what’s available.


© 2017 | 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!

PORTRAITS OF ANIMALS WEBSITE
FACEBOOK | TWITTER | LINKEDIN | PINTEREST | TUMBLR | INSTAGRAM | YOUTUBE | GOOGLE+ | EMAIL

HOME


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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