This summer I had the pleasure of creating a portrait of my friend Heather. The painting was commissioned by her mother-in-law, who has been a great friend and supporter of my art since my early days in London. We had been planning this painting for quite some time now, and ideas had been exchanged over the past couple of years. When we finally settled on an idea, there was only one condition – the painting must include the newest addition to their family, Zippy the dog. I was more than happy to paint Zippy, especially as I’ve been including many animals in my paintings as of late. Also in keeping with my previous portrait commissions, I wanted to include a bit of art history in the work and once I knew the painting would be of both Heather and Zippy, my mind immediately went to Leonardo da Vinci’s The Lady with an Ermine.
While I wanted to borrow from the past, I still wanted to keep the painting contemporary. There is something about the pose of the sitter in the original painting, Cecilia Gallerani, as well as the grace and poise that da Vinci painted her with. I saw something similar in the photos that Heather sent me to work from, and I wanted to have that transfer into my painting of her. And so I present to you, Heather and Zippy.
For an interesting infographic about the secret symbols in the Leonardo painting, head to the Daily Mail website, which featured the painting in an article when it was exhibited in the National Gallery in London in 2011.