Featured Artwork: Calico Cat Mysteries Book 27, “Olivia’s Enchanting CATventure”

This time it’s Olivia solving the mystery of the black smoke cats who enchant a whole neighborhood, bringing strange thoughts and odd behavior but not in a bad way.

Are you familiar with black smoke cats? They are described as having a black coat with white roots. Apparently several breeds can have that color. The cats in this story are long-hair and appear almost ghostlike because of the shimmer of white in their fur. They’re good-sized–sort of Maine coon style. There are a female and a male–the male being slightly larger.

I am thinking of those two cats sitting on the railing of an outdoor deck with Olivia on the floor of the deck staring at them. They can be staring at her or not. Since I use “enchanting” in the title, maybe we could have something interesting behind them in the distance. The story includes women dancing at night out of doors–but they are at quite a distance from the deck where the cats are. If there’s a way we could just show a glow in the background, that might give the illusion I want on the cover–a bit of mystery/mysticism. I don’t want the dancing women pictured on the cover.

I had so many reference photos for this cover I had to make myself choose only two ideas to work with, one with the bonfire Patricia mentioned and one with moonlight, enchanting on its own. Below is the finished cover design that we used, and the draft we didn’t use.

For the cover on the right which we did not use, I combined two background photos. The top was a black and white film photo I call “Moonlight Through the Pines.” The railing and the porch was a black and white photo of my cat Bootsie on the railing of a front porch  where we once lived, but it’s actually daylight. Easy to see how this one came together. Of course, I would not use Bootsie, but I could use her shadow and add another.

References for the design we did use include a bonfire at a skating party from years ago on one of the conservation areas owned by one of my environmental customers, and a bonfire at Rock the Quarry on the Panhandle Trail with that vivid post-sunset deep cobalt sky.

Patricia chose the bonfire design, but we both liked the moonlight design.

Then as I worked a porch rail just wasn’t substantial enough for the two big cats so I changed to a brick railing and wall, which would support the two much better.

Smoke black cats are indeed big and have silvery “feathers” and lots of them. And who was the model for those two? No one but our big Morty in two moods. He has interesting and unusual feathers of his own with the light shade of his underfur, which is medium to light gray. I added him to the layout and enhanced his natural feathers.

You can see how this one all came together!

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

---

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.

---

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.

. . . . . . .

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.

---

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.

---

Custom Commissioned Artwork and Illustrations from Portraits of Animals

~~~

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.