Meet Your New Favourite Artist

UK-based artist Alison Friend has something of a cult following. Her paintings, which apply Old Master technique to almost caricature-like portraits of animal characters, evoke a deep response, part nostalgia, part recognition of how we anthropomorphize our own pets. When she posts her work on Instagram, her paintings, say of a cat in a puffy vest or a dog eating a slice of pizza, get upwards of 100,000 likes. 

Pizza Lover

“I’ve been told many times there’s a warmth and nostalgia to my paintings, says Friend. “For me, they evoke memories of my childhood.”

Her father, who used to paint birds and racehorses as a hobby, was “a big animal lover and he passed that on to me—I remember wanting to be just like him,” she says. Some of her paintings feature interiors from her childhood—or rather, memories of interiors from her childhood.

Choose Biscuits II

“I think the nostalgia plays a big part,” she says. “Also, we love to think the animals in our lives have human emotions and my work definitely plays on that idea.”

Friend’s distinctive style was developed over the years of painting and drawing as a profession, working in greeting cards and children’s books. But it wasn’t until Covid and lockdown that she started experimenting with the technique that has become her signature. 

“Animals set against old-fashioned interiors is something that I’ve kept going back to for a long time. [But] since starting to paint in oils just before lockdown, I feel I am achieving the look and feel for these paintings I have always imagined.” 

“It’s a fine line to get them just right,” she continues. “The rendering of them in oil paint and the colour palette I use is very traditional and steers them just far enough from being too cartoon and makes them still believable as real characters…I hope!”

Me and You Time

At times, the paintings threaten to take over her home. 

“I work in my kitchen from my small apartment in the Lake District. There are times close to a show where my son is eating his breakfast completely surrounded by animal faces—all giving him the side eye,” she laughs. 

Alison Friend

Canines top her favourite characters to paint. “It has to be a dog, scruffy looking terrier types!” she enthuses. “The characters that look a little more serious are my favourites—they are the funniest to me.” 

Stories, photos, and videos shared on social media offer painting inspiration, as do dogs encountered on walks. “Sometimes I’ll see a dog in the street I love the look of, but I’m still working on being brave enough to ask for a photo,” Friend says. “I will go home and draw what I remember about that dog which is often better!” 

Fans stay tuned: Friend hints that a coffee table book may be in the works. In the meantime, visit alisonfriend.com for more.