A note from Michael Parkes—To make a simple portrait into something timeless and monumental is perhaps the most difficult challenge of an artist. The wonderful gold portraits by Gustav Klimt go far beyond a simple rendering of an individual. What is it that makes them so timeless and universal in scope? So I decided to take up the challenge and see if I could produce a simple portrait of an angel and capture some of the mystery and timelessness of the best portraits.

Cheetahs, cats