About This Style
This is the one for people who want a portrait of themselves with their pet and find the idea of dressing up faintly excruciating.
Sunday Morning paints an ordinary domestic moment instead of a ceremony. Kitchen light coming in from one side, a mug, a counter, you in whatever you had on, the animal doing what it does when you are standing there not doing anything in particular. Nothing is heightened. The only thing being asked of the picture is that it be true.
The paint is what makes it a portrait rather than a photograph. Contemporary painterly realism, visible brushwork, colour pulled back to a muted domestic range of warm greys, oatmeal and pale wood so nothing shouts. The looseness lives in the room and the clothes; the faces, both of them, are painted with full attention.
People underestimate how hard this is to buy elsewhere. Formal pet portraits are everywhere. A quiet, well-made picture of an ordinary morning is not, and it is the one that survives being looked at every day for ten years, because there is no gag in it to wear out.
It suits cats particularly well. A cat on a kitchen counter is a truer picture of most people's mornings than a cat on a velvet cushion, and it is the version their owner actually recognises.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can it be a different room?
Yes. The kitchen is the default because it is where most of these moments happen, but note the room you want in the order comments and we will paint that instead: a sofa, a bed, a back step, a car boot after a walk.
Will I be painted in the clothes from my photo?
Yes. That is the point of this style. Whatever you are wearing in the reference photo is what you are wearing in the painting, and if it is a scruffy jumper then it is a scruffy jumper.
How many photos do I need to send?
Two: one clear photo of you and one of your pet. Separate photos are fine and often better, because we can pick the best angle for each of you rather than working from a single shot that flatters neither.