Published by: Ingrid King. Last Updated on: February 7, 2023 by Crystal Uys

custom-cat-portrait

This post contains affiliate links*

After Ruby passed away, my dear friend Robin Olson, the author of Covered in Cat Hair and president of Kitten Associates, gave me a gift certificate for a custom portrait by Lili Di Prima, an artist based in Sardinia, Italy, to use toward a portrait of Ruby. The portrait brought joy and comfort during a difficult time, and I want to share this artist’s work with you.

Lili started out as a graphic designer. “Over time I became more and more convinced by the idea that I could work on my own projects and still make a living from home or from any place I could find myself, like a real digital nomad,” she writes on her website. She left her full-time job and immersed herself in doing what she loves.

She launched her Etsy shop in 2013 and has created more than 5000 custom portraits since then.

custom-cat-portraits

The process to get a custom portrait was emotionally charged for me because, well, it was a portrait of Ruby. I sent Lili a photo of Ruby, and a few weeks later I received a draft of the portrait, with a request to let Lili know if anything needed to be changed. She also offered me a selection of background colors.

She nailed the expression on Ruby’s face with the first draft, but we went back and forth a few times to get her tortie markings just right. Lili was extremely patient with several change requests from me.

Ruby-Lili-di-Prima

The finished portrait purrfectly captures Ruby’s mischievous side and her bright and joyful energy. I got a beautiful frame for it and hung it above the Vesper cat tree that she used to love to nap on.

Ruby-portrait

For more information about Lili’s work and to order one of her portraits, please visit her Etsy Shop.

*FTC Disclosure: The Conscious Cat is a participant in Etsy’s affiliate program and in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites. This means that if you decide to purchase through any of our links, we get a small commission. We only spread the word about products and services we’ve either used or would use ourselves.  

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