Emily-Rose Alcock Art

What is good about having a pet?

When I saw this prompt I got so excited! It literally could not be a more perfect question to answer. Not only because I paint pets, but because I adore them.

This painting is the first from my new collection ‘Resilience’. depicting strength whilst demonstrating love. A love that is not dominant, but that is equally felt.

Pets love unconditionally and have supported me through some very challenging times. There’s so much that humans can learn from animals yet too often humans put themselves before them.

When I was in my early twenties I went on holiday to Cyprus with my friend. We stayed with her Granny in a little rural village. We hired a car to travel around the island and stopped at a petrol station to get fuel. My friend said “Can you hear that meowing?”

We realised it was coming from behind a plant pot, and just behind it was a cardboard box. To our horror when we opened it there was a tiny baby kitten surrounded by broken glass and cigarette butts.

We took the kitten back to her Granny’s house and there it stayed and lived a long and happy life. Oh, and we named it Esso after the name of the petrol station we found it at! 😊

One of the key aspects in all of my paintings are my illustrative lines. So I map those out first using masking fluid.

I love working with a wet on wet technique with watercolour and inks because it creates movement in the painting, and seamless connection for painting skin (where I want it to be seamless). It’s what I love about watercolour. That it is so versatile.

When creating her armour I chose to use acrylic because it is textured.