This painting was inspired by one of my neighbours cats,  called Edward, who is a Silver Tabby.  Initially I just had the idea of a painting of close hues, to complement the subtle colour of his coat.   It developed into a still life.   I liked the idea of there being a story,  the cat looks startled,  he's been discovered on the table where he knows he should not be.  (Actually when I photographed him he had been caught eating food another neighbour puts out for the strays in her front garden)  Then there are the glasses and the cigarette in the ashtray,  who do they belong to?

I like using lit cigarettes in paintings as for me,  they represent a moment in time,  or the fleeting nature of time.   Burning cigarettes are like a modern day equivalent of the guttering candle,  or the overturned glass that was frequently used by the seventeenth century dutch painters.   These types of still life paintings were referred to as Las Vanitas, as they often showed objects which represented the opulent lifestyle of the patron,  but nearly always contained some kind of reminder of death.

Cigarettes are not only useful in representing the follies of life and the brevity of it all,  but they now come with their own health warning.

The glasses, ashtray and cigarettes are all Austrian and were kindly lent to me by a friend.  The brand of cigarettes are called Nil,  they are a beautifully simple design,  which I understand has not changed since the 1920's,  but what really interested me was their name,  Nil.   Somehow it all fitted in with the memento mori theme in an existential sort of way.

I like the idea of glasses on the table as an invitation to the viewer,  however who you might be sharing a drink with remains a mystery.   I used the idea of the glasses on the table and again the cigarettes in another of my paintings,  the portrait of Gervin   (see it in the portraits section).