Haunted Mansion Self Portrait

Ok so i've had the dream to one day have a portrait done of me and my dog. Like the kind you would see at Disney's haunted mansion. You know, where it seems like a nice normal painting but then you look closer and find all sorts of creepy spooky things. And if I was to have this done then I wanted it done big and done right. I smile at the thought of who will get this painting when I die and how many generations will it be passed down to? "Thats great great great grandpa Mason."

Well I work with a very talented painter Amber McRae. And I knew I needed to make the dream happen. So we made a plan.
Check out her website here: ambermcrae.com

We started with a quick photo shoot of me and my dog in a regular office chair in various poses. Our goal was to get a feel for lighting and also a reference for her to paint me in a sitting pose.




We collaborated on all the things we could have going on in the painting and created a couple style guides.




Then I took that photo and began to do some graphic design work on it to give her even more ideas on exactly the layout and look what I was going for. This is what I came up with:



Amber then took my digital mock up and ran with it. She ordered a very large custom canvas and began to get to work. Her goal was to have it done by my birthday on Oct. 3rd. I could hardly wait. She would only give me small little detail photos as to not spoil the surprise. Ready for the big reveal? Here it is all finished and in all its incredible glory!!



I'm giddy every time I go up the stairs. I love love love it! A custom hand painted portrait of me and my dog Brooks. Follow him @kingbrookscavalier on instagram! She captured us perfectly and it fits in excellent with all my other Halloween decor this time of year. I just can't believe how great it turned out. Definitely check out more of her work: ambermcrae.com