A Rodent's Romance

I love rodents! These little creatures are so brilliant! So many movies have been made in their honor: *The Secret of NIMH*, *Basil the Great Mouse Detective*, *Fievel and the New World*, *Mouse City*, *Ratatouille*, *The Count of Despero*... All these works have been stuck in my head since I was a kid, so I treated myself to this painting! The original goal was to create a mafia mouse—a sort of godfather settling scores. The contrast would have been between the mouse’s serene calm and the horror one could sense before her—whether through a shadow or a faint splatter of blood on the wall… Anyway, I didn’t buy it! This mouse was going to be a romantic! It already had one hand behind its back; all I had to do was add some flowers to completely change the whole vibe. A gentleman waiting—somewhat patiently—for a woman, for the first romantic date he’s had in a long time. Romantic enough to bring flowers, yet too nervous not to light up a cigarette. This mouse became my “bro” throughout the entire process of creating the painting! As dark and gloomy as these sewers may be, the energy emanating from the character makes me see this painting as one of the brightest I’ve ever created!