It’s Tortie Girls Time!

Published by: Ingrid King. Last Updated on: February 1, 2023 by Crystal Uys

This post is sponsored by Portraits of Animals

“The gold and orange and yellow of tortoiseshell cats may seem more of an autumn theme, but for me those bright colors always meant June and sunshine,” says animal artist and writer Bernadette E. Kazmarski. “I love to welcome the summer with my tortie girls Cookie and Kelly on as many items as I can make.”

She originally designed these prints in 2001 before digital and gicleé printing were affordable to sell at art festivals and to donate to shelter and rescue events. The two designs based on the daily activities of her two tortie girls Cookie and Kelly are:

“The Roundest Eyes”

“Sometimes when I looked at Kelly the only feature I can distinguish in all those tortie markings were her extremely round eyes.” Bernadette couldn’t have found a more purrfect name for this design.

“The Goddess”

“Everyone knows a fat cat who knows she’s beautiful, and Cookie would tell you that a woman with a round shape was once most desirable and an object of worship.” says Bernadette. “That’s why I called her The Goddess”.

The designs were originally intended as matted and framed prints, but not everyone has the room for, or the use for, art on their wall, and Bernadette designed these block printed works to be versatile. Through the years she has printed them on t-shirts, sweatshirts, curtains, placemats, tote bags and so on—whatever will hold still long enough for the ink to dry. The black portion is printed in ink, then she goes back into the prints and shirts, hand tinting by painting watercolor or ink into the design to capture those characteristic oranges and yellows.

Except for one product, all the items are hand printed and handmade by Bernadette and so each is available only in limited quantity. In preparation for her June celebration she spent a good bit of time printing and painting and sewing and finishing things, duly supervised by her current family of black cats during the creation and manufacture of all of these items.

Tortie Girl Products

The Items included in the Tortie Girls celebration are tablecloths and place mats, t-shirts and tote bags, rice paper prints available framed or unframed or mounted, kitchen hot pads, and garden flags.

10% Discount and Free Shipping through June 30
use code JUNE10 at checkout

Please visit The Creative Cat to learn more about all of the Tortie Girl products, and to purchase.

Though she lost Cookie and Kelly in 2012 at the ages of 20 and 19, Bernadette finds it sweet to know their images carry their memory on in so many other homes. So if Tortie Girls are your definition of summer too, happy shopping!

FTC Disclosure: This post is sponsored by Portraits of Animals, which means that I was paid to feature this content. Regardless of payment received, you will never see products or services featured on this site that I don’t approve of.

About the author

Ingrid King

Ingrid King is an award-winning author, former veterinary hospital manager, and veterinary journalist who is passionate about cats.