Featured Artwork: Calico Cat Mysteries Book 16, “Olivia’s Tropical Catventure”

Lily and Archie went to Hawaii and got some really neat leis during Olivia’s tropical catventure!

I’m finishing the first complete draft of Book 16 of Olivia’s series today. This one takes place in Hawaii. Archie (the orange tabby) is with her. I wonder how it would look to have Olivia wearing a flower lei against a green, tropical backdrop. Archie could be wearing one, too–maybe the male version of a lei–with leaves and nuts.

I really appreciated that little detail, which sent me on a few fun hours researching leis.

Title: “Olivia’s Tropical Catventure”

I feel like we should show a hint of chaos or mystery in the background, but I’m not sure how to do it. Maybe just a few–3?–pair of cat eyes peering out from the foliage around Olivia and Archie. That might give the illusion of mystery.

So we have Olivia and Archie wearing leis against a tropical background, and because the cover is a vertical shape they will be sitting up, side by side, or very nearly so. I used one of my photos of my foster Bert (of Bert and Ernie, 2015) who is the model for Archie, and one of the photos of Olivia Patricia sent me. Olivia looks lovely and graceful and I’d wanted to use this one for a while but Olivia wasn’t engaged in any activities where this one would work.

I found some stock photos of the leis I needed, and initially began with one view of tropical foliage of Hawaii that was fairly dark so they would stand out and maybe make things seem a little more sinister. But it was too detailed and both of them were kind of lost. When I found elephant ear was common in Hawaii I knew a photo that would work.

And then, those eyes peering out of the foliage…There really wasn’t enough space between the leaves for more than one pair of eyes, and if you look at the original elephant ear photo and the cover you can see I had to remove part of a leaf to make space for Giuseppe to peer out from between the leaves.

I don’t remember which of a few thousand photos of Giuseppe I used, but he has the best eyes for things like this. It was August 2023 and though he had hypertension he was otherwise doing fine and I hoped to give him a lift to stay well!

Here’s the synopsis of Olivia’s Tropical Catventure:

Olivia has her paws full in this lively story.

Olivia, Archie, and their human team members are called to the tropics to solve a troubling mystery. Why are cats disappearing from a Hawaiian art colony? What’s happening to them? You won’t believe where the clues lead. Meanwhile Olivia sounds the alarm that saves some frightened children. She leads authorities to another child that’s been kidnapped, she exposes an alleged exotic cat smuggling ring, and she calms an out-of-control airline passenger who wants Olivia and Archie thrown off the plane.

You can find Olivia’s Tropical Catventure on Patricia’s website with links to Amazon.com.

Award-winning illustrations

This was one of the series of covers I painted in 2023 that I recently earned a Certificate of Excellence in Series Illustration (books 12-17) in the Cat Writers’ Association Communications Contest.

About the materials for the cover illustration

Now I use a slightly rough surface all-media paper, single ply but thick and very versatile for pastels. It’s not entirely opaque so I can put it on my light table and trace the details in place. I initially started out with a sketch in watercolor but I’ve been using my brush markers more often to block in the colors and especially the dark areas; the markers are alcohol based and don’t cause as much ripple in the paper and have cleaner edges than watercolors. Then I put it on my easel and finish it with my pastels, a mix of soft pastels and pastel pencils especially for details. I still keep all the other options on hand, though, and occasionally I’ll use one of them.

Getting all the details just right on an illustration like these book covers can be tricky when they are small. Depending on the detail in the illustration, I work them almost twice the final size of the cover—the cover is 5″ x 8″ and I work at 9″ x 12″.

Other illustration materials I’ve used

I didn’t use paper for most of these illustrations but chose Ampersand brand Pastelbord, which is a piece of Masonite with a very fine clay and marble-dust coating that has very little texture but holds layers of pastel so I can both do my finger-painting thing with blending softer pastels and sketch with harder pastels and pastel pencils, and it stands up well to multiple changes. I began the painting with soft pastels to cover the major areas with layers of color. I finished up the details and edges with pastel pencils.

But once I began working out the covers with all this Victorian detail like PAWSitively Sinister, I needed a little assistance in keeping the details in order so it didn’t take me until next year to do the painting. Especially when working with patterns it’s important nothing is out of place or it’s immediately noticeable. I start with a complete composite that I’ve built in Photoshop using all the photos and images and art so that Patricia can see just what it will look like, and I have all the details in place. It’s far more difficult to correct an illustration than a Photoshop composite, which I can adjust infinitely. That way, when I get to my actual painting, all the decisions have been made and I just need to paint.

For several years I used a self-prepared two-ply illustration board with a very fine surface texture to hold the pastel, and also be able to use other media. It’s not entirely opaque so I can put it on my light table and trace the details in place. I start out with a sketch in watercolor and even marker to block in the colors and especially the dark areas. Then I put it on my table and finish it with my pastels, first the soft pastels for coverage, then pastel pencils for details.

I took some time to tray a textured drawing paper because the texture can help hold details and layers of pastel. The texture was a little more pronounced than I wanted, though it did work well for a few covers where I could use the texture as part of soil or rock textures.

Now I use a slightly rough surface all-media paper, single ply but thick and very versatile for pastels. I still keep all the other options on hand, though, and occasionally I’ll use one of them.

Depending on the detail in the illustration, I work them sometimes twice the final size of the cover. Getting all the details just right on an illustration like these book covers can be tricky when they are small. The books are 5″ x 8″, but this illustration was 10″ x 16″, which helped me to paint in all the leaves and details of the bark.

About these book covers

I’ve illustrated over 90 covers to date for Patricia over two series of cat mysteries. Rather than list them all here, you can explore the category Book Cover.

Calico Cat Mysteries Book Covers

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Klepto Cat Book Covers

CWA 2018, 2021, 2022 Muse Medallion AND Certificate of Excellence for “Illustration: Series”

Patricia publishes about six books each year and I’ve entered the covers since 2015. I’ve won a Certificate of Excellence each year, and often won a MUSE™ Medallion too.

2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022, 2023

Click the links above to see the other awards.

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All books are available in electronic format and most for print on Amazon.com as well as find the print versions on Patricia’s website. Reviews have been good, and a few reviewers have even mentioned the covers! I hope you enjoy these books, and Patricia and I are currently working on the next cover. That woman can write!

When we finished book 12 we also updated the two-sided bookmark that includes all twelve books so far which Patricia can hand out at book signings and book shows.

We’ve also printed several runs of note cards from multiple covers, including a Christmas series.

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Read more about book covers I’ve designed. Also, click here to read more about the Purrs of Wisdom cover and bookmarks, and also about books I’ve designed on my blog, What’s New?

Are you interested in illustrations or a book cover, or book design? Please contact me, I’ll be happy to discuss your project.

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Featured Artwork

Each week on Wednesday I feature a piece of artwork, sometimes a current or historic portrait, sometimes an illustration or an art project from years ago, usually cat-themed, but sometimes wildlife or even non-animal subjects, and even projects from my commercial art life. Read other Featured Artwork posts.

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Custom Commissioned Artwork and Illustrations from Portraits of Animals

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From Animal Portraits to Book Covers to Advertisements

In addition to creating commissioned portraits beloved animal companions for the past 25 years, I’ve also been a commercial artist since the 1980s both full-time and freelance and created many illustrations, book covers, advertisements, display signs and more. Visit my Commissioned Artwork pages to read more. They are not quite complete at the moment but there is still quite a bit to look at.