The Art Bunny vs. National Trust

My art is on official National Trust merch! The new Chirk Castle souvenir range that I was commissioned to paint a picture for has now arrived in the shop! I'll be honest I didn't really enjoy doing the commission itself due to creative differences and poor communication but I am super excited to see my art on official National Trust products.

The eagle eyed amongst you who have seen the original painting or the image of it on my website may have noticed that it differs slightly from the one on the new Chirk Castle range. The project leader thought that the nymph statue at the bottom stood out too much and wanted me to make it smaller and more muted. Well I spent a good 7 or 8 hours painting that statue, and I think it's one of the best things I've ever painted, so you can bet I was not painting over it! Instead I photoshopped it; I changed the hue to a green and copied some of the bushes around her base to blend her in a bit more.

Personally I think the original looks much better. The statue has more life and the pink brings it together with the pink flowers in the meadow and the tips of the bushes behind her. The edited one just looks old and sad. What do you think?

ORIGINAL PAINTING

EDITED FINAL VERSION