Click the icon at right to meet My Cats    Click the icon at right to see my Commissioned Cats    Click the icon at right to see my Commissioned Dogs    Click the icon at right to see a Demonstration of Animal Portraiture    Click the icon at right to see my Wildlife Artwork    Click the icon at right to see My People    Click the icon at right to see my Landscapes    Click the icon at right to see my Waterscapes    Click the icon at right to see Still Lifes and Flower Studies    Click the icon at right to see some Other Works such as house renderings and urban scenes...    Click the icon at right to see a variety of Cards and Prints and other merchandise available   To order notecards or small prints, click the icon at right to go to my Notecard Order Form   To order original artwork, click the icon at right to go to my Artwork Order Form    Click the icon at right to meet My Cats    Click the icon at right to see my Commissioned Cats    Click the icon at right to see my Commissioned Dogs    Click the icon at right to see a Demonstration of Animal Portraiture    Click the icon at right to see my Wildlife Artwork    Click the icon at right to see My People    Click the icon at right to see my Landscapes    Click the icon at right to see my Waterscapes    Click the icon at right to see Still Lifes and Flower Studies    Click the icon at right to see some Other Works such as house renderings and urban scenes...    Click the icon at right to see a variety of Cards and Prints and other merchandise available   To order notecards or small prints, click the icon at right to go to my Notecard Order Form   To order original artwork, click the icon at right to go to my Artwork Order Form

An avid gardener, I don't know whether to weed the flowers beds, admire the flowers or paint them. Then, of course, there are the vases of flowers brought inside for daily pleasure as well as the wildflowers brought back from a trip afield which provide constant, though fleeting, inspiration. Tea for Tulips MEDIUM: Watercolor; IMAGE SIZE: 12" x 16"; 1998, $600.00 matted and framed These tulips graced the front cover of one of the many seed catalogs I receive each spring, and the longer it laid on the table waiting for attention, the more I realized I was studying that photograph and planning just what brushes and colors I would use in the watercolor I would create. I intentionally kept the background vague and loose in shades of green and neutral tones to complement the brilliant reds, oranges and yellows and extreme detail in each of the tulips. The frothy white curtain, minimally worked, rests atop the flowers as if a spring breeze from the open window has whipped it up and gracefully placed it there. I had a great time with the rusty old teapot, completely unsure how to render it in watercolor without overworking it, but, as often happens while I'm working, I looked and it was done. Click here or on the artwork for an enlarged version.   Wildflower Harvest MEDIUM: Pastel; IMAGE SIZE: 12" x 10"; 1996, $400.00 It was one of those moments that completely overtakes me—the ordinary in the extraordinary again. I had gathered these wildflowers on the way home from work during one of those too-brief, clear September evenings, warm, but with a creeping chill in the shadows. Goldenrod and fall asters will always make me stop and pull over, so I brought some home and placed them in the vase on the table on my deck. I can see this vase every time I pass my back door, but it was the one brief period of about ten minutes when the evening sun angles down onto the deck that I passed the door and was overwhelmed by the flowers, completely illuminated, the goldenrod shimmering, the purple asters rich and regal, a perfect complement to each other, all placed before the deep shadows of trees. It only lasted a few minutes, and then was gone, and I am glad to have taken the opportunity to render all the detail and feeling I could photograph and remember.Click here or on the artwork for an enlarged version.   Green Apples and Squashes MEDIUM: Oil Pastel; IMAGE SIZE: 12" x 12"; 2000; Commissioned, Sold I am new to oil pastel—before the "Green Apples" they felt like crayons and I never thought I'd get used to them, being so accustomed to chalk pastels. But it was the very differences that kept drawing me back—the brilliance of the colors, the quickness of a sketch, the ability to create "impasto", or an actual thickness of the medium on the paper seen most often in oil paintings. The Granny Smiths were politely piled in their bowl, unaware that they were providing a great inspiration for me to do my first still life, and to do it in oil pastel as an experiment. And so that work came to be. It was purchased, and the woman who purchased it decided that she would like two paintings for the spot, identical in size, matting and framing and perhaps style. We discussed several subjects, but as the summer waned and she mentioned golds and earth tones, I knew it had to be squashes. One of my favorite vegetables to grow and to eat, they were just about ready to harvest, and their colors were perfect to create a piece to complement the Green Apples. Click here or on the artwork for an enlarged version of the Green Apples or the Squashes. Columbines MEDIUM: Watercolor; IMAGE SIZE: 5" x 6"; 1994; NFS Another piece borne of January inspiration in my seed and flower catalogs, this little bunch of columbines was so joyful that it stayed with me. One of my favorite flowers, it si also a favorite of my mother, and this piece actually belongs to her—I gave it to her as a birthday present one year. Click here or on the artwork for an enlarged version.       The Garden Gate MEDIUM: Watercolor; IMAGE SIZE: 5" x 6"; 1994, Sold For someone who is a gardener and spends a lot of time in her yard—what a special place! If I can't have it in my yard, at least I can paint it. The arbor sporting ivy, the old azalea crowning the entrance and the gate, mysteriously left ajar and leading to a stone path to another part of the garden...I believe this came from a magazine. Click here or on the artwork for an enlarged version.       Red Climbers MEDIUM: Watercolor; IMAGE SIZE: 15" x 10"; 1995, Sold This photo reminded me of my mother's climbing red roses which grew up a trellis on the side of the house. These roses have always fascinated me because they just keep going—up the fence, over the fence, down the other side. As a watercolor it was pure pleasure, with enough color, light and shadow and shape for it to be interesting. The reflected light near the bottom, especially, was a joy to study and discover. Click here or on the artwork for an enlarged version. Interior with Cat MEDIUM: Watercolor; IMAGE SIZE: 11" x 16"; 2000, $350.00 matted and framed Those calendulas, which had braved a pretty hard frost, opened fully when the sun shone in the windows the next day, and that was the first inspiration for this piece. I photographed the calendula, intending to paint only them, but when I looked over the photographs in preparation for painting, I noticed the cloth, the paperwhites in the pot, the light glare on the table, and of course, the cat. It developed into a much larger work than I had wanted, but it was a real challenge to create something from a different perspective than I usually have. And since I create so many other works involving my cats, I really tried hard to keep the cat out of it, but it just wasn't complete until I painted her in. Click here or on the artwork for an enlarged version.

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All artwork on this page is copyright Bernadette E. Kazmarski and cannot be used or reproduced in any way without my written permission.
This page is owned and maintained by the artist.

I update the artwork on this page as I create new works. While trying to view this page in as many browsers and on as many monitors as possible, plus trying to keep my artwork clear but not so big that it takes all day to download, I have found that each picture changes with each variation. I hope that what you see here is clear and inviting.

Send your comments, stories or requests for information to: Bernadette Kazmarski or bernadette@bernadette-k.com if my link isn't working.
The URL of this page is www.bernadette-k.com