That's the power of Twitter, people.
This week I painted Neil Gaiman’s dog. Yes, that Neil Gaiman. (You know, Coraline, The Graveyard Book, American Gods and so forth….) I know, right?
Here’s how it came to be – an amazing twisted journey that unfolded on the internet. Let’s call it, Six Degrees of Neil Gaiman.
- I read the blog, Sundry Mourning.
- Sundry writes a column with Swistle.
- Swistle mentioned The Bloggess in a post once and I started reading that too. The Bloggess has a dog named Barnaby Jones, who I painted once.
- The Bloggess once posted or tweeted a video, Oasis by singer Amanda Palmer. I bought Who Killed Amanda Palmer on iTunes and started following her on Twitter.
- I painted Amanda Palmer with a horse. Amanda Palmer is dating Neil Gaiman. The Bloggess DM’d Neil Gaiman to show him the painting. He liked it.
- I read Anansi Boys and Coraline and started following @neilhimself on Twitter.
Or at least that’s how I remember it.
Neil Gaiman has a dog named Cabal who is an extraordinarily handsome white sheperd. He often posts photos of Cabal on Twitter and after one such post I replied.
Mind you, Neil Gaiman has about a million and a half followers on Twitter, so I did not expect a reply. But I got one.
So that’s how it came to be that I painted Neil Gaiman’s dog, Cabal. And here he is.
Title: Cabal
Completed: January 7, 2010
Soundtrack: Porno For Pyros, “Good God’s Urge”
Beverage: Tea Forte Winter Chai
UPDATE: He liked it.
January 8th, 2010 at 9:35 am
Have I mentioned lately how amazingly talented you are? Because you are.
January 8th, 2010 at 9:53 am
Aw, shucks.
January 8th, 2010 at 10:07 am
That’s wonderful news! The painting is beautiful and Neil should love it!
January 8th, 2010 at 10:55 pm
that is very, VERY cool! i’m in the middle of “ananzi boys” right now, actually.
January 11th, 2010 at 7:16 pm
wow. your art is really amazing. found this through fycablel
January 12th, 2010 at 11:57 am
that is so, so cool
February 7th, 2010 at 6:14 pm
love your work- I just bought one piece of Yupo this week to experiment. It is in a large brown bag tacked on my bulliten board- tell me that it won’t be too werid to paint on it?
Elizabeth
February 7th, 2010 at 8:28 pm
Elizabeth: if you’re used to conventional watercolor paper, Yupo will take some getting used to…but it’s fun!
April 8th, 2010 at 8:23 pm
What a great portrait. I wish I could afford a commission. I have two kitties who would look amazing in your style.
In other news: Yes, Twitter is awesome. If not for Twitter (and Neil Gaiman), I never would have been called “middle-aged” in the pages of New Yorker magazine.
Peace.
–Rob
April 8th, 2010 at 8:28 pm
Cabal’s eyes are marvelous in your painting – I keep scrolling back up to look at them
April 8th, 2010 at 8:37 pm
Wow, that painting is GORGEOUS.
April 8th, 2010 at 8:53 pm
What a great story! Twitter is powerful indeed, and so are your paintings.
April 8th, 2010 at 9:32 pm
I’m not sure if I would have ever seen your website if it weren’t for Neil posting a link here, this painting is gorgeous! You have awesome stuff
Glad to have been pointed in your direction.
April 8th, 2010 at 11:35 pm
Absolutely gorgeous! You have a wonderful talent!
It’s so wonderful to be able to give back to the artists we adore!
^_^
June 20th, 2010 at 9:40 pm
[...] few months ago, I painted Neil Gaiman’s lovely white shepherd, Cabal. A dog so noble, he even has his own Tumblr [...]
May 25th, 2011 at 10:55 am
[...] author Neil Gaiman posted some photos of my paintings living in his house. In his entry hall, specifically. I am over [...]
September 27th, 2011 at 2:52 am
That is an amazing story . I love your work too.
October 6th, 2011 at 1:15 pm
[...] painted pet portraits for Neil Gaiman before, but I was super excited he said “of course” I could paint him and Amanda Palmer [...]