commission for @heartleaved

It was such an amazing privilege to be able to commission Mari for this stunning portrait of my beautiful cat, Olivia. I love Mari’s work so much; and it is such a joy to see the beautiful likeness she captured here of Olivia. I am not so partial to exact copies of pets as photo renderings (though I admire the skill) but I much rather like drawings featuring my pet as the subject but with more imagination to scene and pose and so on. I really think this sets Mari’s work apart. 

I love that Mari strikes such a wonderful balance between a photorealistic rendering and something imaginative that is so full of charm and whimsy. Her skill is is immense, the marriage of a very classical, refined looking technique and style with a modern charm is so beautiful. This is something that looks as if it could hang easily in the classical art wing of a museum. The lighting is handled wonderfully, as is the composition, as with just the right rendered amount of detail in all areas of this portrait. I am really looking forward to getting this printed and framed!

I was going to post an accompanying photo of Olivia but there’s no need to; she just looks exactly like this!