This portrait by Devan Shimoyama portrays the artist with his cat Cookie, who just turned one year old. Shimoyama has a strong connection to animals, and his pets frequently appear in his works. “I wasn’t allowed to have [pets] as a kid,” Shimoyama says. “I have two dogs and a cat now.” Unlike many of Shimoyama’s portraits, Self Portrait with Cookie doesn’t include many adorning elements, layered collaged mouths, or obscuring of the eyes. It’s a direct self portrait; intimate, but large in scale. It’s not quite monochromatic, but compared to many of Shimoyama’s other portraits it has a subdued, pared down color palette. “Cookie’s completely brown. I’m brown. I feel a kinship with her through color,” Shimoyama says.