Thursday, March 28, 2024
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A New Portrait: Madison

Madison, first proof
Madison, first proof

Yes, he’s really in the sink! I’m so pleased with this pose. When I work with a customer for a portrait, I ask them what comes to mind when they think about their animal companion. I advise them to choose a pose and setting as close to that visual as we can devise, using my own portraits as examples. It’s nice to have a formal setting where we can see every stripe and spot and whisker and sometimes this is entirely appropriate depending on the subject’s personality, but if they had a cute or quirky habit that can be illustrated into a portrait, we should do it! This is the first proof and it’s not quite his face yet, and of course the sink is just blocked in with some color, so there will be more finished views to come.

Madison’s person is the person I grew up next door to, but haven’t seen in years after she moved away for employment and then my mother moved out of her house and I sold it. Of all things, another person who grew up in our neighborhood but lives across the country found her on FaceBook and sent an e-mail, and we managed to get together when she visited her mother. How wonderful to find out she’s just as much an “animal person” as me, but sad to discover she had lost Madison at the age of only eight years old to diabetes.

I always let my customer make the decisions for the portrait, but if I see a good photo I’ll put in my vote without hesitation. He looked so natural in the sink and I loved his expression. “Oh, he was always in that sink!” she remarked. So here he is.

I’ll be posting updated views soon, but I’m getting ready merchandise for a festival this coming weekend and I may not update until after that.

Bernadette

From health and welfare to rescue and adoption stories, advocacy and art, factual articles and fictional stories, "The Creative Cat" offers both visual and verbal education and entertainment about cats for people who love cats, pets and animals of all species.

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