My Friend Fatso

2024
Information
Subject: My friend, Fatso the house cat.
Artist: Chris Lawton
Year: 2024
Media: Digital Oils
Software: Rebelle Pro 7
Reference Photo: Personal Collection
My Friend Fatso Timelapse | Lawton.art

Artist's Note:

There is much to be said regarding the animal friends many of us bring into our lives. They bring us joy and companionship, they love and support those they bond with, unconditionally. They can provide light in our lives during the darkest of times. For some people it might only be the friendly neighbourhood dogs and cats, stopping by for a moment to say hello. For others it is their pets, and it doesn’t take long to find examples of how affectionate all different kinds of animals are with their humans.
 
This painting is a tribute to them all. It is also a tribute to my friend, Fatso. I’ve never painted anything as personal as this piece, and really poured everything I had into it to try to capture not only her likeness, but her personality. We got her in the time before I became ill, and she was with me then during a time when I was genuinely hopeful for the future. I was busy trying to build a career for myself. Then, when I became ill, she was there right through the collapse of my hopes and dreams, keeping me company.
 
So, too, was she there during my fight back from the brink. She was there through the pain, she was there through the tears, she was there through the fear. And she was there right the way through as I slowly clawed my way back toward health. She was there when I started painting as a way to help with my healing. She was there when I started to hope again. She was there when I started to dream once more of a future.
 
Unfortunately she died last year. So this one is for her. This one is for my friend Fatso.

Full Process

The video below is provided for those with more of an interest in the full process than the above (more artistic) timelapse can provide.  This is because here instead of a recording out of the software (Rebelle 7 Pro) of a timelapse of the paint on the canvas, this video is of a screen recording of the software itself as I worked.

The video below is about 30 minutes in total, which is showcasing my work vastly sped up for the sake of brevity.  It showcases all of the tools and references I used, and gives a better understanding of the work involved than the artistic timelapse can provide.  Currently I do not have any recording equipment for video, but really all that would be added would be me sat in front of a graphics tablet working on and looking at exactly what you see on screen in the video below.

The only thing not recorded on this particular project was the slight image editing I performed during post production (white balancing, slight colour tweaks, etc.) which would have been done in On1 Photo Raw and / or Affinity Photo.  I like to do as much as I can directly in Rebelle these days as this limitation helps me focus.

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About this Artwork

All of these portraits of animals were hand painted in digital media. No ai generation. No auto-painting.

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