Lately I have been busy working on a commission for a lady that wanted it as birthday present for her daughter.
My brief was to paint the two pet cats and to incorporate their names into the picture.
Obviously I needed plenty of reference material, so my client set off, camera in hand to"stalk" the animals in question. All this had to be kept secret or the surprise would have been spoiled. Photographing cats is not always as easy as it looks!
Eventually we ended up with a selection for me to work from.
My immediate thought was of traditional head poses with their names written below...but....that's just not my style! Instead I decided to create a composition that would put the cats into a relevant scene.
In some of the photos I was able to see the soft furnishings in their house, I reproduced these in the painting by decorating the cushions and cat rug with the same colours and patterns.
Then I added the cats names by making them look like they were appliqued cushions.
It all worked really well and I'm delighted to say that both my client and her daughter love it!
"Pip and Katy"
Acrylic 16"x 20"x1.5"
What I havn't mentioned is that the birthday in question isn't until Christmas! Unable to keep the painting a secret for so long we decided to hold a surprise Un-Birthday celebration.
I made a "Happy Not Your Birthday" card, wine was drunk and candles blown out on cup cakes :)
Just like the Disney song from "Alice in wonderland" a very merry un-birthday to you ....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RdsZT7WKjW8
