by Charles T. Jackson
Having completed these few projects as practice
, I felt confident enough to do a project that had been running around in my head since Christmastime. I wanted to paint a portrait of a cat that we had when my wife and I were first married
, but had to adopt out due to the allergies of our first baby. We had initially adopted our “Moe” as a hospice case as he wasn’t expected to live out the year due to an ear issue. He was so little, and loving that we fell in love with him immediately
, and he us. Everyday he did something to let us know how much he appreciated us and how much he loved us for taking him in. But when our first baby came
, and was also allergic to him, we had to decide who was going to go. Now, as our first baby suffered from daily belly pains (Colic) and cried almost constantly, it was up in the air for a while whether it was going to be Moe or the baby going to my wife’s parents house. Ultimately it was Moe that got sent away, and even though he was still officially in the family, it really broke our hearts. When he moved to my in-laws, he was already three years beyond his life expectancy, and lived happily for another seven years with them!! He survived on love that he received, and gave. He was truly an extraordinary cat.
I found a picture that looked just like him, and made this painting of him so that we could have fond memories of a cat that was literally our first baby. There was no doubt that this image would never be available for sale as it looks identical to Moe
, and would have a spot in our home forever.
Right now he sits next to our TV stand
, but when I initially painted him, I sat him on the front window sill where he would sit all the time when we had him in life. He doesn’t take up much room at all due to the fact that he’s painted on 3/4″ plywood and secured to a base that lets him freely stand wherever I decide to put him for the day.
While we only have had his image in our house for the last week, it has been nice reminiscing with our children about a cat that we loved, and loved us back long before they arrived. Contact me at forensicartctj@aol.com if you would be interested in having a memorial cat or dog of your own. I have decided that I’ll do cats and small dogs for $350.00
, and larger scale dogs (24 inch max height) for $525.00.
This is a side by side of the image that I did my first portrait from, and the freestanding 24″ tall
, approx. 19″ wide “Forever Rebel” that I made for a friend. I’m so glad to be able to do this, and I look forward to hearing from you. Thanks for stopping by.