Illustrated

When I still had my horse, I spent a good month or so trying to find a pet portrait artist who would capture his quirky character. I found plenty who produced beautifully lifelike, if slightly old fashioned, horse portraits, but never one who would capture his spirit, his love of bananas or uncanny ability to unbuckle the farrier's apron while he was working. I think that's something that needs a lot of talent and the opinion that most animals have just as much personality as people.

A few weeks ago Allison Berg, an illustrator from Oregon, emailed me to ask if she could illustrate my rabbits or my parents' dog Rosie who I'm forever Instagramming...and I never would have guessed she would get their characters so spot on; Basil's slightly timid expression and near spherical face, Hilary's little glint in her eye when she's planning on doing something she knows she's not meant to - which is basically 23 hours per day. 

Allison didn't tell me she'd painted Rosie too so that was a surprise this morning. Rosie has been a bit poorly lately, so when I saw her face upon opening the envelope there may have been a tear or two! I can't wait to find suitable frames for these and hang them in my flat with the rapidly increasing pile of pretty things that need hanging on the wall.

If you have a pet, or need something illustrating, definitely get in touch with Allison - have a look at her work on allisonberg.com or her Etsy store which she's currently stocking with prints and custom pet portrait listings. She also draws an awesome llama (alpaca?!).

Thank you so much Allison!

p.s. am I the only one who just makes big holes in the paper if I try to use watercolours?!