«Umrak and Jessie at 04:10»

In 1363, under King Edward III, England passed a law about clothes. It said which furs, cloths and jewels each class could wear, so that nobody dressed above their station. That law is where this animal portrait pop art painting starts. Nobody needs a statute today. A logo does the same job.

A German shepherd and a tabby cat sit side by side in front of a turquoise wall covered in a black monogram of interlocking letters and four-petal flowers. The dog wears a black tracksuit jacket with a white double-letter pattern and red and white stripes down the sleeve, plus a gold chain and a heavy gold watch. The cat has wide amber eyes, a necklace of icy stones, a blue satin drape with small gold lion heads on it, and a black quilted bag marked with a gold logo of intertwined letters.

Both faces are glitching. Thin strips slide out of line, and small rectangles punch holes through the heads so the wall pattern shows behind. The animals are the part that breaks up. The labels never flicker.

Cassius Marcellus Coolidge painted his dogs playing poker in 1903, and Andy Warhol drew a whole book of cats around 1954. In 1962 Warhol painted soup cans, and a product became a sitter. I wanted both ideas on one canvas: pets posed like a formal double portrait, with the brands as the real subject.

The title, Umrak and Jessie at 04:10, sounds like a photo caption. I leave it as it is.

This is an original pop art painting on canvas, 95 x 110 cm, from 2022. It is contemporary pop art, animal portrait pop art with a luxury edge, and it works as statement wall art for a living room or a café. Most of my original paintings are already in private collections, but I paint originals to order in any size. To ask about this one, message me on Instagram or by email. A hand-finished lithograph of this work exists too, and you can order it through Instagram or email.