Portrait Gallery

Sasha

I had the opportunity to meet Sasha. She was quite reserved and liked to keep to the corners of the room.  She loved to sit up high on the book cases or in the cat tree and watch the activity from afar. But what surprised me was how much she seemed to be carefully assessing what was happening, drawing her own, unknown conclusions. In this painting, I wanted to capture that combination of being withdrawn while making sure the eyes showed her quiet vibrance and intelligence.

LILLY

Lilly was one of the most energetic, exuberant spaniels I had ever met (in a breed that is already energetic and exuberant). She was a bundle of ceaseless, frenetic activity. But when speaking to the client, I realised that she saw Lilly in a completely different light. She saw Lilly as quite regal, almost majestic. I wanted to capture that perception of Lilly for the client and so selected the photo that had that noble 3/4 view and dramatic lighting.

OBI

I conducted a photo shoot with Obi, so got to know him a bit and he was a joy to meet. He took all of the great qualities of cats and amplified them. He was incredibly independent, self-assured bordering on cocky and commanded the space when he walked in. When selecting the best photo from the shoot to use for the portrait, I had to laugh as the photo the client selected epitomised that self-assured streak - a lion in a cat's body. 

lexie

Lexie was a curious combination of caution and confrontation. She would slowly approach, stand in front of you and then look at you with very large green eyes in a way that made you think she was demanding something of you. I wanted to paint the portrait so the viewer would experience this same arresting phenominom.

goliath

Goliath belonged to a family who ran a tulip store in central Amsterdam. He was absolutely tiny, but he would trot out of the store onto the sidewalk, casually avoiding the masses of pedestrians and find a spot to sit and soak up the sun. He was fearless. He owned that sidewalk. I wanted to capture that self-assuredness and some degree of the size, as the sidewalk pavers are quite modest in size, providing a gauge for his diminutiveness.