Featured Artwork: Klepto Cat Book 65, “Purrs in the Wild”

Yes, there are three black cats lined up behind Rags—kind of reminds you of a photo from last week’s post about my latest TNR project? Well these cats are in a colony as well and are even eartipped as well, but they are not your average cats, and they’re out in kind of a wild area. Here is what Patricia described:

Rags can be sitting, walking, standing–whatever pose you’d like to use. He’s outside and in the shadows around him–a bit in the distance, are black cats–maybe two or three of them scattered around the area. These cats are extraordinarily large cats and they’re hiding out. So what we’ll see on the cover are these cats at a distance in the shadows looking out at Rags. All we should see are eyes and shadowy black forms. Rags is not connecting with the other cats, but he could look like he’s aware of something–you know, facing the camera with his ears pricked sideways as if he’s listening to something behind him.

We did move a bit from that description. With all the outdoor detail just eyes or shadows were difficult to find. We talked about the terrain and surroundings so I chose one of my photos of a bit of trail into the woods where the grass was tall and close to the trail so we could constrain the layout. The autumn colors and light would make the cats stand out more. I used three different photos of the same feral at a colony near me that I photograph pretty regularly, and she is a pretty big girl, then I made her even larger than she was in proportion to the background.

Rags, though, is standing there as if he knows something is different about his surroundings, tail up, ears alert.

I had intended to add a pair of eyes off in the woods that would be easier to identify because of the three cats you could see, but forgot! Now every time I look at this cover I almost want to get the original and add them in even if they won’t be on the cover of the book.

Here’s the synopsis:

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

Just a little note…

We finished this design and cover in June 2023 so I’m finally getting closer to catching up with current covers. Well…we just finished cover 70 which means I’ve got quite a few covers to share in order to get there so while I’m working on other creative activities I will keep sharing these covers. I stopped painting in April 2023 to take care of the four cats I lost, stopped except for Patricia’s book covers for which I was very grateful during that time for the creative outlet that didn’t cut too close to home, and for the income that helped pay for all the care.

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About the materials for the cover illustration

I use 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 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 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 soft pastels and pastel pencils especially for details. Depending on textures I need in the art I sometimes similar weight drawing papers with different textures too.

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″ or larger.

Other illustration materials I’ve used

I don’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.

I use 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.

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.

About these book covers

I’ve illustrated over 70 covers for Patricia over two series of cat mysteries. You can see the Klepto Cat covers below and search “Klepto Cat” to find all the posts.

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Klepto Cat Book Covers

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

 

Patricia publishes nearly a dozen books each year and I’ve entered the covers since 2015. I’ve won a Certificate of Excellence each year for either or both the Klepto Cat Mysteries and the Calico Cat Mysteries, 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.

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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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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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