Featured Daily Sketch: Cool Morning Bath, 2013

December 15, 2025 Bernadette

oils pastel sketch of cat — “Cool Morning Bath”, oil pastel, 5″ x 7″, 2013 © Bernadette E. Kazmarski

Mimi twisted and turned in the diffuse morning light at the door, all those delicate shades reflecting warmer on the floor, cooler on her, but still all in greens and blues and a very pale yellow, the light swirling around her. I liked this sketch a lot when I painted it in 2013, and I like it even more every time I look at it.

Oil pastel again, for the strength of colors and the texture, but here the delicacy of the mixed pale yellows, greens and blues carries the idea of cool winter morning light that I wanted, the shadows deeper and just a bit warmer, Mimi’s black fur turned blue and green in all the reflections. Mimi, so inspiring!

About my work in Oil Pastel

I’ve been working out this style now following Two Cats After van Gogh. I traveled with a friend in April 2012 to see the “Van Gogh Up Close” exhibit. All the way home on the Megabus I remembered the colors and shapes and textures, and wanted to work the same energy and form I saw in his brush strokes, visualizing oil pastel to layer and blend the strokes as an experiment. Arriving home in Pittsburgh just a few hours later I saw Giuseppe and Mr. Sunshine, just quietly hanging together on the landing, Giuseppe sitting upright, Sunshine loafing, and visualized exactly what I would sketch, and posted Two Cats After van Gogh as my daily sketch that very day.

After seeing so many van Gogh paintings up close in the exhibit my goals in working “after van Gogh”, or in the style of van Gogh, are to be aware of the colors he used, and why, and to use the textures to build the image, so that every color and stroke, and the shape, direction and energy of the strokes, would be important to the painting. Like poetry, nothing is extra, nothing is wasted.

Mimi is the subject of another oil pastel, In Window Light, and also participates in yet another oil pastel with Mewsette, Kitty Spoons. You can see other oil pastels in the category Two Cats After van Gogh.

Where to find Cool Morning Bath

I sold the original but offer a variety of digital and canvas prints on Portraits of Animals.

Greeting Cards

“Cool Morning Bath” can be found in two of my sets of cards.

“Winter Cats” is a collection for Christmas and the winter holidays and includes four designs.
As a single greeting or note card and it can also assort with my “Feline Greetings Art Cards” collection for a custom dozen.

Gift Items

I am out of all gift items with this art right now—I just sold the last tile this weekend—but I’ll be making more soon for next year’s events and “Cool Morning Bath” will appear on many, like the tile, keepsake boxes in various sizes and shapes, paper gift bags, now and then a votive lamp, small wood-mounted prints and other small gift items.

Daily Sketches 2011 to 2015

I think I accomplished what I'd set out to do three years ago today, a challenge to me and entertainment and enjoyment for you: to create a quick sketch of my cats each day as a way to practice and experiment, and present the sketch on that day with no editing, no waiting, no excuses, just to do the sketch and share it.

Read more about the reason for the daily sketches in Daily Sketches: the Idea, Most Popular, Awards.

Click here to see other daily sketches.

For a gallery of the ones available for sale, visit Portraits of Animals in the “Daily Sketches” section.

"Feline Style Sampler" book of sketches and portraits.

A collection of 34 images of feline artwork

**The award-winning* Feline Style Sampler**

Now in its third printing since 2013! Daily sketches, illustrations, commissioned portraits all in a small coil-bound gift book. Click here or on the image to read more or find this book on Portraits of Animals.

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*Certificate of Excellence, Cat Writers' Association 2014 Communications Contest

Gifts featuring cats you know! Visit Portraits of Animals

Fine Art • Photography • Gifts • Greeting Cards • Books • Commissioned Portraits & Artwork

I sold the original but have plenty other print options. Read more and order.

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.