This is Honey and she called Melbourne Zoo home until 2016.
Honey was always keen for a photo - she'd constantly parade her enclosure and often interact with visitors.
With the help of some reference photos I took in 2013, I completed this 2019 commission in July, within six weeks of the final request. While it's no longer available for purchase, this commissioned painting is presented on Bluethumb as an example of what a commissioned piece can look like, and what's involved in the process.
The commission called fora bear, with a bold background. Through conversation with the buyer, we established that the painting was to be a gift, and we discussed the style/colour preferences of the recipient.
Given this painting was to be shipped abroad, we opted for a smaller canvas, cropping a life-size Honey at the shoulders, however, a larger painting featuring more (or all) of the subject could have been facilitated.
Professional giclée prints were also arranged prior to shipping as the buyer wanted a number of art reproduction prints to be included in the package. These prints were made available to the buyer at a modest fee, and will soon be made available on Bluethumb.
If this piece lights a spark, please follow me as an artist to be notified when prints art uploaded in the coming weeks. Feel free to get in touch with Bluethumb if you'd like to arrange a commission of your own - I'm always open to chats with prospective buyers.
Throwaway.