A Pet Portrait Makes a Great Christmas Gift

I wanted to take a break from the crazy Thanksgiving prep that's going on at my house and sit down for a minute with a glass of iced tea.  While I'm sitting here, I wanted to share a great Christmas gift idea for the pet lovers in your life- a pet portrait.  Yes, I paint pet portraits, and they are so much fun!

Let me show you some pics, and then I'll explain more about the process.

This is a little terrier named Star.  She was a young girl's dog, so the pink collar and fun background felt appropriate, and the star hanging from the collar hints at the dog's name.

This is Martha, who has gone on to Doggie Heaven.  Her owner was having me paint this after the dog passed.  When I asked her to tell me about Martha, the first thing she told me was thay they missed her a lot.    I always ask for information on the pet so that I can work special touches into the art piece.  Since I like to work in mixed-media, and to help tell the story, I found this text in a discarded book- "I miss you too"...It was the perfect addition (and that special touch) to help tell the story.  The owner was in tears when she saw it.  

                                         

This is Rivers, a pit-bull mix who was attacked and badly hurt, and the family who rehabilitated it started a rescue service called Rivers of Love.  To help tell that part of the story, I painted the raised textured hearts in the background.

This is Chili...I gave this one a Spanish feel with the black and red, along with the gold design element in the background.  The bandana has the word "Hot" around the edges...well, enough said!

This is Bonnie (see Clyde below) and I wanted to give the set an old, sort of sepia toned feeling, so I glazed the background to age it.  I added text to tell the story of the famous duo using the words to the song about them.  I also added a raised, textured flourish to speak to Bonnie's feminine side.

Clyde was painted to match Bonnie, and I used text from the song once again to help tell his story.  I had to put the bars, well- because he was a bad boy.

As you can see from these examples, I use information that I get from the pet owner to help me with the creative process of designing the piece of art, and it all works together to tell the story of the pet.  I ask a series of questions, and then I just think about it for a few days until something comes to mind.   I work from photographs, and I usually like to have several, as some details may not be visible in all pics.

There's still time to get a pet portrait for a Christmas gift if ordered by December 12. Obviously, the earlier, the better.  If you are interested, contact me by e-mail and we'll chat. Prices are listed below and I use Paypal billing.

Pet Portrait Price List

8" x 10"    gallery wrapped canvas (does not require frame)                $50 + shipping

11" x 14"  gallery wrapped canvas (does not require frame)                $75 + shipping

Thanks for joining me today!

Judy

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