From Mrs Patmore to Lady Sybil, these barking mad illustrations show the animal side of Downton Abbey's most-loved characters. The art works entitled 'Houndton Tabby', were designed by illustrator and artist Kim Parkhurst, 39, after she combined her love of drawing and Downton Abbey. 'I've been painting portraits of animals in historical costume for some time,' explains the New Yorker. Very paw-sh: Downton Abbey's Lady Mary Crawley, played by Michelle Dockery, trades places with this Borzoi . Doppelganger: Jim Carter as Mr Carson in ITV's Downton Abbey (left) and (right) Kim Pankhurst's animal recreation of him using a clumber spaniel . 'I've taken some familiar and beloved characters whose demeanour, personality, and appearance seemed to translate to certain breeds of dog or cat. 'I got to thinking about Mr Bates' character and storyline, and Brendan Coyle's facial structure, and how he could look hard but also had the warmest, kindest eyes. 'In all those ways, the character reminded me very much of the much-maligned, often misunderstood pit bull dogs that fill animal shelters. 'So, I wondered if I could paint a portrait of a character, but with a realistic dog, and make it recognisable. A Dalmatian replaced Downton Abbey's Cora Crawley, Countess of Grantham, played by Elizabeth McGovern . Downton Abbey actor Brendan Coyle as Bates (left) and a dog (right) 'I was pleased with the result, so I tried my hand at more characters. As I worked on one, ideas for others would come. 'By the time season three of Downton aired, me and my husband were hooked, so it was relativity easy to pick out characters.' Painted digitally using just a drawing tablet connected to the computer, one work alone can take Mrs Parkhurst up to 20 hours to complete. The artist said: 'People seem to find them delightful if they're fans of the show. My best moment was when I was speaking with a woman at an art festival. Maggie Smith as Violet Crawley (left), Dowager Countess of Grantham and the widow of the late Earl of Grantham, and (right) a Sphynx cat . 'As she was talking, her gaze focused past my shoulder and she trailed off speaking for a moment and then said, 'That cat looks like Maggie Smith.' 'She hadn't seen Downton Abbey, but she had seen the Harry Potter films, and she recognised the sphynx cat as Maggie Smith's character. 'It was all I could do not to hug her. Making them look like people was hard to do without hair, but I didn't want to put wigs on them. Downton Abbey's Matthew Crawley, played by Dan Stevens, swaps with this Australian shepherd . ITV's costume drama series Downton Abbey is written and created by Oscar-winning writer Julian Fellowes and made by Carnival Films . Lady Sybil Crawley, played by Jessica Brown Findlay, is turned into a Burmese cat in the dog and cat Downton Abbey collection . Mrs Patmore is replaced by a fluffy ginger cat, created by artist Kim Parkhurst . Downton Abbey's Sarah O'Brien (left), played by Siobhan Finneran, trades places with an Irish water spaniel . 'People keep asking why I haven't drawn Mrs. Hughes, or Lord Grantham, or Branson. 'Mrs Hughes didn't bring any animal pictures to mind and I left her out, instead of trying to shoehorn her into something just to tick a box. 'Lord Grantham would have to have been his own yellow Labrador, But if I did that, I would have felt compelled to draw Isis somehow, and that got into weird Goofy-and-Pluto-are-both-dogs territory. 'As for Branson, I would have happily drawn him, but the pajama pants were simultaneously the most intriguing but the most inappropriate.'
Works entitled 'Houndton Tabby' designed by artist Kim Parkhurst, 39 .
They were painted digitally using just a drawing tablet connected to PC .
One work alone can take Mrs Parkhurst up to 20 hours to complete .
From Mrs Patmore to Lady Sybil, these barking mad illustrations show the animal side of Downton Abbey's most-loved characters. The art works entitled 'Houndton Tabby', were designed by illustrator and artist Kim Parkhurst, 39, after she combined her love of drawing and Downton Abbey. 'I've been painting portraits of animals in historical costume for some time,' explains the New Yorker. Very paw-sh: Downton Abbey's Lady Mary Crawley, played by Michelle Dockery, trades places with this Borzoi . Doppelganger: Jim Carter as Mr Carson in ITV's Downton Abbey (left) and (right) Kim Pankhurst's animal recreation of him using a clumber spaniel . 'I've taken some familiar and beloved characters whose demeanour, personality, and appearance seemed to translate to certain breeds of dog or cat. 'I got to thinking about Mr Bates' character and storyline, and Brendan Coyle's facial structure, and how he could look hard but also had the warmest, kindest eyes. 'In all those ways, the character reminded me very much of the much-maligned, often misunderstood pit bull dogs that fill animal shelters. 'So, I wondered if I could paint a portrait of a character, but with a realistic dog, and make it recognisable. A Dalmatian replaced Downton Abbey's Cora Crawley, Countess of Grantham, played by Elizabeth McGovern . Downton Abbey actor Brendan Coyle as Bates (left) and a dog (right) 'I was pleased with the result, so I tried my hand at more characters. As I worked on one, ideas for others would come. 'By the time season three of Downton aired, me and my husband were hooked, so it was relativity easy to pick out characters.' Painted digitally using just a drawing tablet connected to the computer, one work alone can take Mrs Parkhurst up to 20 hours to complete. The artist said: 'People seem to find them delightful if they're fans of the show. My best moment was when I was speaking with a woman at an art festival. Maggie Smith as Violet Crawley (left), Dowager Countess of Grantham and the widow of the late Earl of Grantham, and (right) a Sphynx cat . 'As she was talking, her gaze focused past my shoulder and she trailed off speaking for a moment and then said, 'That cat looks like Maggie Smith.' 'She hadn't seen Downton Abbey, but she had seen the Harry Potter films, and she recognised the sphynx cat as Maggie Smith's character. 'It was all I could do not to hug her. Making them look like people was hard to do without hair, but I didn't want to put wigs on them. Downton Abbey's Matthew Crawley, played by Dan Stevens, swaps with this Australian shepherd . ITV's costume drama series Downton Abbey is written and created by Oscar-winning writer Julian Fellowes and made by Carnival Films . Lady Sybil Crawley, played by Jessica Brown Findlay, is turned into a Burmese cat in the dog and cat Downton Abbey collection . Mrs Patmore is replaced by a fluffy ginger cat, created by artist Kim Parkhurst . Downton Abbey's Sarah O'Brien (left), played by Siobhan Finneran, trades places with an Irish water spaniel . 'People keep asking why I haven't drawn Mrs. Hughes, or Lord Grantham, or Branson. 'Mrs Hughes didn't bring any animal pictures to mind and I left her out, instead of trying to shoehorn her into something just to tick a box. 'Lord Grantham would have to have been his own yellow Labrador, But if I did that, I would have felt compelled to draw Isis somehow, and that got into weird Goofy-and-Pluto-are-both-dogs territory. 'As for Branson, I would have happily drawn him, but the pajama pants were simultaneously the most intriguing but the most inappropriate.'
entitled 'Houndton Tabby', were designed by illustrator and artist Kim Parkhurst, 39, after just a drawing tablet connected to the computer, one work alone can take Mrs Parkhurst up to 20