Why My Animals Have Opinions

At school, I mainly drew odd birds. Quite literally: birds. Especially when I was bored, which was pretty much all the time. Later, other animals joined the mix. Strangely enough, I went a very long time without drawing cats, even though they've been part of my life longer than any other animal. Fortunately, I've more than made up for that since.

What hasn't changed is the way they turn up. My animals rarely just sit there. They arrive with opinions of their own, and usually with a situation to go with them.

An animal where it shouldn't be

Most of my animal work starts as a quick sketch of an animal in a situation it probably shouldn't be in. A cow on a tightrope, balancing pole and all, while the audience looks considerably less confident than she does. That one became Daredevil. A little piglet in a striped outfit, with the unmistakable look of someone who has just been caught and the most innocent expression he can manage. That is Prison Piglet, and he still claims he didn't do it.

The situation is the joke, but the animal has to mean it. The cow isn't worried about the height. The piglet genuinely believes his own story. That is what gives them their attitude, and it's why I think of them as characters rather than portraits. You can see where many of them begin in my sketchbook.

Laughter is good for you

My animals have helped me through some difficult periods in life. Not that I wish difficult times on anyone, but if you happen to be going through one: being able to laugh makes a difference. Laughter helps you relax, and every bit of relaxation moves life in a better direction. Solutions become easier to see, things become easier to let go of, and everything tends to fall into perspective a little more.

When Artsy Shark featured my work back in 2014, I told them my motto was "The Importance of Not Being Earnest". I still stand by it. I also said that humour will probably, well, save the world. I stand by that too.

Of course, you don't need a bad day

You certainly don't need to be struggling to enjoy my animals. They're also for people who are simply feeling good. A touch of mischief, a different perspective, and hopefully a smile. You're not just bringing an animal into your home, but a character with a story, an attitude, and a daily companion.

The title is the second punchline

A lot of the humour sits in the title. Kitty Kitty Bang Bang is a fluffy white cat with bright green eyes and a revolver, sitting right where 007 usually stands, in the middle of a black spiral. The title comes from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, written by Ian Fleming, the same writer who created James Bond. In Faux Pas, a lion gushes over a cactus at an art show while his cub blushes with embarrassment.

Sometimes the title is the whole idea. In Cakewalk, the expression is taken literally: a slice of cake has grown legs, put on heels and gone for a walk. No animal at all, but the same habit of taking an ordinary idea and pushing it just far enough.

Not every animal is joking

Some of my animals are simply quiet. In Connection, two horses lean into each other, heads gently touching, completely at ease in one another's company. There is no punchline. It is one of those moments that needs no explanation, and I think it belongs in the same family. Having an opinion of your own also means you're allowed to be still.

Colour does a lot of the talking

My animals are rarely painted in the colours you'd expect. A panther can be pink, a mouse can be purple or lime, and a black cat can breathe yellow fire. Colour is also where my other work begins: alongside the animals, I paint abstract work that starts with a colour I simply have to use. In the animal work, colour helps the character come across before you've even read the title.

Where they live

All of these characters live in the Animal Art collection. Most are available as museum-quality canvas prints or fine art paper prints, and a few as one-of-a-kind original paintings. If you'd like to know more about me, there's a little more on my About page.