Commissioned Hand Sketched Cat Portrait in Memory of Bernard, a Well Loved Orange Tabby
When a dear friend of mine lost her beloved cat, she reached out to me about commissioning a pet portrait to remember him by.
She wanted to be able to have a hand-drawn portrait to honor and remember her pet. He had been her companion for most of her life, growing up along with her.
My Creation Process
- I started out with a loose sketch, using all of the photos to help me grab that Bernard look
- Each photo helped me see a bit of his personality. He is a pretty chill cat. You can see it through the photos, especially the one of him in costume
- Once I had sketched the main photo, I decided what I wanted to keep. His pose and the wrinkled cloth worked very well artistically and the light shining in over his shoulder gave him a bit of a glow. With that in mind, I blacked out the background and left the glow
- I did have a bit of a challenge getting the shading just right with his coloring pattern, but in the end I was able to slowly adjust the shading until it worked perfectly to highlight Bernard
- That combined with his relaxed look completed the piece
This pet portrait took several weeks to complete and is now displayed in his mom's house. In her words, "she captured my kitty and his personality perfectly in the custom pet portrait we commissioned and it will forever be displayed in my own. It's truly a priceless piece of art."
I'm so glad I was able to create a piece that will help her remember the great times she had with her cat. There's a story in this portrait that she can re-live over and over again. And now she also doesn't have to worry about loosing that Bernard look of his. She can be at peace seeing the portrait of him, that bit of his personality, every day.
Looking for a way to memorialize your pet?
Contact me to schedule a free call to see if I'm a good fit for drawing your pet!
