Featured Artwork: Calico Cat Mysteries Book 26, “Olivia Lets the Cat Out of the Bag”

Olivia and Archie do help to rescue quite a few cats and a number of them were featured in this story.

How about Olivia and Archie in the forefront. And a large house standing behind them with a snowy mountain in the background. There are beautiful cats of all kinds at the windows in the house—all safe and cozy inside because of Olivia and Archie.

The house is quite large. The elderly woman built it to house her large collection of cats. It’s in the mountains of Utah near a ski resort. It’s two stories. Other than that I didn’t give much description–so have fun.

I’ve always liked when a customer told me to “have fun” with a design!

My biggest holdup was what kind of a house to use. Of all the image resources I have on my computer, my own photos and older collections I purchased on CD, none of the houses I had would fit either with the story or the shape of the book cover without the windows being so tiny you’d never see the cats. I really wanted a three-story house for the vertical space but a rustic three-story house is kind of an oxymoron. So I ended up driving around and looking for one in my area and found the one I used, kind of rustic, two stories, LOTS of windows. That made it a wider house and I had to crop the edges of it so the windows, and the cats in them, wouldn’t be too small. The background of mountains and pines was from a friend’s photos of a trail in northern California.

Then I collected the cats aside from Olivia and Archie I had used on prior covers and chose the ones who were saved because of Olivia and Archie even though Rags saved some of them too.

I know I had some ideas of having Olivia and Archie lying on the steps or on the porch railing with all the cats around them, but then they’d be no bigger than the cats in the windows, really. So I used photos of them I’d used before, but they look very proud of the job they’ve done here with all the other cats in the background.

Here’s the synopsis:

You can find this book on Patricia’s website and Amazon.com.

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 100 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.