Featured Artwork: “A Nap on the Feed Sacks,” Watercolor, 1994
Twenty years ago when I was still experimenting with other media than pencil and pastel, with which I felt most confident, I began doing small paintings instead of the larger ones that were more detailed and took more time. A friend I worked with grew up on and still lives on the family farm—the one I’d visited in the splendor of that autumn when I’d been looking for painting subjects other than cats. She was also a skilled photographer and shared many of her prints. I painted “A Nap on the Feed Sacks” in 1994 from a photo she took on her farm.
Cuddled together for comfort, these kittens live on a farm owned by a friend of mine. She passed the picture on to me because she thought I’d like it, which I did immediately. The scene was so simple and quiet that I decided to render it as a quick study, without too much detail, so that I wouldn’t overwork the subjects.
That’s what I had to say about it when I added it to my portfolio book in 1994. I sold it shortly after I painted it to someone who purchased a half dozen small works to auction off for a rescue benefit.
Here is the uncropped version, which I also like.
Below is the photo she gave me. Even after all these years of finding and rescuing kittens, this little kitten pile is still the most typical, and even a typical range of colors and patterns—a dark tabby, an orange tabby and a black kitty. The only flavor missing is a tortie.
Below is the original photo from my friend.
1994 was over a decade before I knew anything about TNR and finding barn homes for feral cats, but barn cats were still well-known in the area I where I grew up surrounded by small family farms and farm stands and local farmers markets.
From 2014
I used this photo to illustrate one of my rescue stories in 2014 and wrote about working in my studio and finding photos of artwork from decades before…
Three years after my big studio re-do in 2011 I am still finding artwork I’d done years ago and forgotten about, though not all of these forgotten masterpieces have been found in their originals. As part of consolidating my artwork and art materials I also consolidated 30 years of photographs. I’ve been surprised at what I’ve found, forgetting the photos I’d taken of foster cats from the early years and photos of my own feline family in everyday poses. I can get back to some of the paintings I’d planned now that I’ve found the photos I thought I’d imagined taking!
I’ve also photographed, and later scanned, every piece of artwork I’ve done to document it, though not all scans are of a quality for reproduction, or any quality at all, especially in this era when I was photographing my paintings in the frame with glass…sigh. I didn’t always get film developed right away, and had no idea how bad some of the photos were. Plus, through the glass? I had wanted to document the frame and mats, it seemed like a good idea at the time. And then I sold many of those little paintings, and donated them to auctions and such, so I have no idea where they’ve gone and can’t reproduce them.
This one, however is pretty clear and balanced, considering it’s 4″ x 6″ and I held it at an angle from my camera so the flash wouldn’t reflect off the glass! It’s darkened from left to right with a shadow on the right side, but that’s okay. It’s nice to remember how I studied the photo and planned the colors and techniques with my beginner’s understanding of watercolor after years of working in pencil and pastel. This was when I worked out layering colors in watercolor, and I remember working out the layers and tones for the stripes in the kitty, and how to show some detail in the black kitten. I was also especially proud of the background since the colors and strokes I used aren’t represented in the photo as are the stripes and the shadows in the plant and the feed bags. Still, today, pleased with what I accomplished so long ago. Still want to go up to my studio and do it again when I see a photo that inspires me.
And last night when I was searching for an image to use to illustrate my rescue story it suddenly seemed like the best image to use, so I pulled it out and scanned it, and I’m happy to share it here. I’ll have a few more to feature soon.
…and today in 2026 I’m still finding things in my studio I did years ago and forgot about!
Where to find this artwork
The original painting is sold, long ago. Because of the quality of the image I’ll probably just keep this image to a note card, though they might also be found on a small gift item.
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.
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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.
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Beautiful painting.
Thank you. So long ago it’s hard to believe.