Whistlers Mother

Artist Comments

This is a copy of Arrangement in Grey and Black No 1 by James Abbott McNeil Whistler, more commonly known as Whistler's Mother (with obvious adjustments by Mr Bean).

I painted it as a gift for my eldest daughter Ashleigh as she said the Mr Bean version was her favourite. Even though the head is comedic, I tried to make it as faithful a reproduction as I could.

I probably spent most time on the curtains, trying to get the detail right - it certainly gave me some practice using a rigger brush.

As it was a gift, I took it to an art framing shop to have it framed and chose a complementary black frame with a grey fillet. When I went back to pick it up, the guys in the shop said it was their favourite piece of the week and it made them smile. They also said that the 'arty' types in the shop were horrified someone would paint it like that - ah well, you can't please everyone.