7"X5" Acrylic on board

I am still having some difficulty finding my muse. This is from a photo I took a month ago at the same time that I did a sketch. I tried to use the photo, which was a very low-res cellphone picture, just as a starting point. I didn't refer to the sketch either. I am trying to work less literally and to use my memory and imagination more.

I am still struggling with my commission which is a pet portrait, not one of my strengths. It is made especially difficult because I don't have a good reference photo of the two animals together, just a bunch of snapshots, some of which I took myself and some taken by the client. I am trying to come up with a montage that works but I still have deep misgivings.