Pavane in Gold

"Pavane was quite a character. She was the pet of a person I've known since I was a teenager. Her owner, who worked in a winery, brought home a lot of champagne and the cat became quite fond of it. She also acquired a taste for cantaloupe. I don't know whether it was the wine or the melon, but Pavane always made quite an impression on whomever she met.

"Pavane was very dear to me and she was also an excellent folk art subject. She has appeared in several of my works. Here I contrasted her simple yet striking black and white fur with the gold background and the checkerboard beneath her. It presents her in a stylish, even sophisticated way. That's only fitting since Pavane herself had an appetite for the finer things in life."