The Inner West Life
‘The Inner West Life’ - 2024, oil on canvas, 1800x1000mm
‘The Inner West Life’ is a commissioned painting that was a huge amount of fun to work on. It’s not every day you get asked to fill a brief that contains such an eclectic list including city landmarks, parks, buildings, pubs, people, and blind dog that gets pushed around in a pram and wears a grey jumper. On top of that there was also a ‘cat-in-the-hat’ character which has been the one dog’s favourite toy since it was a puppy!
When I sat down with this list of elements and started sketching out ideas, I figured it would be best to create each part then bring them all into Photoshop and collage it together. This plan let me play with everything and see what suited, what worked and what didn’t.
After a few sketching rounds, the final composition came together. The ‘cat-in-the-hat’ became the bartender, the dogs were both at the table, and the background, with a little architectural license, became the city skyline.
The colour scheme requested was bright, with lots of purples and magentas, but not too ‘girly’. It might sound odd, but all of this combined to be a really good brief that I was able to then roll along with and enjoy the painting process.
If you’ve ever thought about commissioning an artwork for yourself or as a gift, use the form below to get in touch. They are something I love to create.