Featured Artwork: Klepto Cat Book 77, “Rags Lands a Job”

March 20, 2026 Bernadette

I really like how this cover turned out, grimy warehouse and all, but especially the cats.

Patricia described the story and her idea, actually many ideas!

Working title is “Kitty-Cat Chaos” Rags goes with his family to Santa Barbara to help a college friend with a project. This guy’s trying to renovate an old warehouse district into new retail shops–a sort of strip mall. He is being plagued by cats (of course he doesn’t like cats). These are destructive cats that keep causing trouble and slowing the construction progress. He has called on Rags to help get rid of the cats.

So the theme is Rags interacting with random cats around the property. I’m thinking of Rags sitting across the room from a couple of the rowdy cats just watching them as they do something destructive–claw office furniture, scatter things from a drawer all over the office floor–or the two or three naughty cats could be hiding out–peering out from under the desk or??? while Rags surveys the damage they had done.

You’d like the ending. This guy ends up be indebted to one of the “destructive” cats because she tries to tell him his wife was in trouble–wife was saved. He’s so enthralled with this amazing cat and he’s so discouraged by the people who handpicked these naughty cats and brought them to the job site to cause him trouble, that, in the end, he decides to sell off the bulk of the property–give up his idea and open a cat shelter.

I imagined what would be the most succinct and easily understandable on a cover, at the same time as thinking of Kitty, Industrial Engineering Supurrvisor I’d met at a manufacturing business here in Carnegie. What would he and a few other cats be up to?

Kitty, Industrial Engineering Supurrvisor

I responded, I’m thinking of something like three or four cats on an office desk, one of them pushing at something near the edge, with some papers and other things on the floor. Tell me what the office looks like–bright or dim? Modern or older?”

As for the cover, I like the idea of the cats in the office. I hadn’t thought of that. It is a construction site office, so not elegant at all. I’ve written that the cats are really dirty and kind of sticky like someone poured a substance on them, then they wandered around in the soft dirt. But I wonder if it’s necessary to make them look that bad. Wouldn’t be a very nice picture. Can we simply have them look thin, and at least a bit rough?….I like the idea of one in process of pushing something off the desk—a cup of coffee?

They also destroy a set of plans.

Okay, a few more community cats and a desk with papers and cats in some kind of grimy industrial space. I had taken other photos of the place were Kitty was as well as other industrial spaces around here and elsewhere in the area. This place is full of them! Most are really complicated but I could plunk a desk in front of it all. I did a layout like that and shared it but neither of us was wild about it.

I did a search in my subscription photo sites for a messy desk in industrial company and found the entire background of this cover in one piece and liked it immediately. The other ideas were too busy and complicated, let’s just get down to the action.

To Kitty I added one of Denise’s ferals, the tabby Spider, and this gorgeous feral Siamese mix near here, each with his own unapologetic look that cats wear when they do something you know they don’t like and they do it anyway. Then my Namir as a stand-in for Rags on the floor with his paws up on the edge of the desk, checking their technique. And some flying papers that just adds the final touch.

Here’s the synopsis:

Rags changes minds and transforms lives.

When Rags is called to help remove a gang of destructive cats from a job site, little did anyone know it would become a rescue effort that would save and change lives. Not only does Rags help innocent cats find their way back home, but he uncovers a mystery involving peeping-Tom cats, he locates two missing persons, saves a puppy in distress, and helps to change a very stubborn mind for the sake of fellow cats everywhere.

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

About the materials I use for the illustrations

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 100 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.

book cover design with cats and quilt undercover cat patricia fry

The final cover for "PAWtners in Crime" by Patricia Fry.

The final cover for "The Purrfect Lie" by Patricia Fry.

"A Picture Purrfect Christmas" klepto cat mystery by patricia fry

The finished cover for "Meow for the Money".

"Claws for a Cause" by Patricia Fry, cover illustration and design.

Cover illustration and design for "Cabin FURvor"

"The Amazing CATventure" cover, finished.

The finished cover for "Merriment, Mayhem and Meows".

"A Christmas to Purr About" Klepto Cat Mysteries No. 22"A Christmas to Purr About" Klepto Cat Mysteries No. 22

FURever Bound cover illustration and design.

Cats Don't Squeal cover illustration and design

illustrated book cover for cozy cat mystery

cover illustration for klepto cat book cats of a feather

book cover illustration and design klepto cat mystery

Klepto Cat Mystery Book Cover illustration and design

Klepto Cat Book 66, "Rags Claws for Clues"

Rags Digs Up the Past book cover illustration and design.

cozy cat mystery book cover patricia fry

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

Click the links above to see the other awards.

Bookmarks for Patricia L. Fry's books. — Bookmarks for Patricia L. Fry’s books.

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.

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.