Cat Portraits
Welcome to my cat portraits pencil and coloured pencil drawing of Max. This was a wonderful portrait and pretty quirky as my client Rebecca requested me to add one of Max's whiskers in the portrait as well as some of his ashes. I was very happy to do this and am quite surprise other clients haven’t followed suit as it was such an amazing idea. Scroll down to read about how the portrait and idea developed.
The Cat Portrait in Pencil
The photos of Max below show the portrait all complete prior to framing and the whisker being added.
About the Cat Portrait Commission of Max
Rebecca emailed in 2017 to find out if I would be able to portray her cat Max who had sadly passed away. She had kept his ashes and a few of his whiskers and wanted them included in the portrait. I was delighted to oblige. Rebecca sent lots of photos of Max however the best one for the portrait showed him with his eyes closed. Lucky there was another photo of Max, not quite right for a portrait, however his eyes were fully open and I was able to use the that photo as reference for his eyes.
His eyes were also a beautiful colour blue and so Rebecca and I discussed the possibility of using coloured pencil as a feature in the drawing. I have done this before on portraits and I feel is is often a really good addition.
Rebecca asked if it was possible to paint his name with the ashes which I did, mixing it with a little PVA glue and you can see the results below in the framed photos. Originally we were going to add the whisker as an exclamation mark, however the whisker was very long and the space for it by the name was fairly limiting. So instead I glued the whisker in place of a drawn one on the actual portrait. You can see it if you stand in front of the portrait and it was a really lovely delicate and personal touch. Scroll down to see more photos and read testimonials from Rebecca too!
Client Feedback
Oh Melanie.....
Just unwrapped the portrait.....I had a weep!!!!
It is absolutely beautiful.....you have captured the essence of his character....
My husband spotted the whisker first....and the name is perfect.
Thank you....will send a picture shortly. We have put him in our extension and will wait for some good light....after all he was a sunshine pussy cat!
Thank you he's now back with us
Cheers
Rebecca
x
The Cat Portrait in Situ
Rebecca very kindly took a photo of the portrait when it was displayed in her home. She wanted the portrait in between her kitchen and sun-room as that’s where he would spend most of his time, sunning himself in the warm and it meant that Rebecca and her family could see him all of the time being in the most used rooms of their home.
Hi Melanie,
Here is Max.....pride of place with his discerning look!!!!
Friends came around last night and couldn't believe how real the picture looked!!
Cheers
Rebecca
The Cat Portrait Framed
Here are a couple of photos showing the portrait all framed and ready to send to Rebecca and her family. You can see the ashes creating the name Max inset into the mount at the bottom. The whisker is glued onto the actual portrait really carefully, creating a whisker in the drawing. The frame that Rebecca chose is sadly not available any longer, however I have many equally as beautiful frames to choose from. head over to my Framing Gallery to see more examples.
Cat Portraits
If you have any quirky ideas for your portrait, similar to Rebecca I'd love to hear from you. I am always willing to work with my clients unique ideas on their portrait. It really makes your portrait bespoke and unique to you and your family. Email or message via my contact page and let me know your ideas!