Bob, Maine Coon Cat - Commissioned Pet Portrait

Here is Bob, also known as Bobby, a huge, twenty pound,  Maine Coon mix, who is the subject of another pet portrait. The painting of this handsome big boy was commissioned by Marnie and Simon for Simon's mother, Anne. Intended to be offered at Christmas, Bob's portrait was made a few months ago and remained hidden until now. It's now safe to post the making of his portrait as I got the "green light" from Marnie.

Marnie: "I just wanted to let you know that Anne loved LOVED her portrait of Bob. You can go ahead and post your blogposts!"

When making the portrait of a pet, I always appreciate having several shot of the animal to get a good sense of size, colouring and markings, but his personality was best described by Marnie. I believe that knowing these details makes the portrait better.

In Marnie's words, "These are actually photos of photos of Bob that Simon surreptitiously took over his mother's shoulder after he tricked her into showing him some old pics on the computer:). I once heard Maine Coons described as phlegmatic and it made me understand what phlegmatic means: 'having an unemotional and stolidly calm disposition'. He was a very cool dude. When Molly got too in his face he just quietly put a big paw on her forehead and she backed off. But he loved his mommy (Anne), who rescued him from the neighbour - an old guy who had died leaving Bob homeless when he was about 5. Anne and Bobby were a good team for about 8 or so years until he died of mouth cancer. It was pretty traumatic for Anne to lose her buddy."

The shot below is the one I chose to do his portrait. He looks cool, calm and collected. I also love that he is comfortably laying on the bed, safe, loved and cared for in in his own home.

The duvet cover on which Bob's laying on was a gift to Anne from Marnie and Simon. A souvenir from a visit to a tiger sanctuary in India. How perfect, Bob the "Maine Coon tiger" master and ruler of his domestic kingdom and the tiny tigers that are his subjects.

Below are progress shots  of Bob's portrait.

I chose a birch wood panel to do Bob's portrait. Framing optional with a 1 1/2" thickness.

The fine grain of the sanded wood surface allows for fine details. 

Here is Bob's portrait completed.

Details

I always sign and date the back of the painting before applying the paper backing.

To make the portrait even more personal, a dedication in Bob's honour is printed on the back.

In this case, Simon chose a quote from the French poet and writer Jean Cocteau and added his own touching words. Perfect.

For gift wrap, I chose a Japanese handmade rice paper with multi-colour bits of yearn and thread in its composition. As cats are often associated with balls of yarns and are easily amused with hanging threads, I thought it be appropriate. The painting was shipped with my gift card, ribbon, stickers and carefully packed and box for shipping.

Bob's portrait now hangs in Anne's home, where it belongs.

To Marnie and Simon,
Thank you so much for entrusting me with the making of Bob's portrait for Anne.
I'm thrilled and honoured to have one of my artworks in your family and especially touched by how loving and caring all three of you are, towards your animal companions.
To Anne:
I hope you enjoyed this post on the making of Bob.
Bob's portrait is just an illusion of his presence,
but I hope that seeing him in your home brings you much enjoyment.

💗