Custom Pet Portraits

I really love painting animals. I'm always driven to figure out how to best depict their fur, and how to convey the soulfulness in their eyes. I do a lot of preliminary experimentation on scrap pieces of paper to test out different colors and techniques for getting fur details just right. I also have an affinity for capturing an animal's eyes (more on that in a minute.)

Pet portraits are a very popular subject. If you are considering commissioning a custom portrait of your pet(s), here's a quick list of why I think my portraits are among the best you'll find:

• Capturing their "soul." I've had psychic and empathic abilities all of my life. From the age of four, I realized that I had a particular gift for communicating with animals — an inner knowing that I understood what they were thinking and feeling, and that they understood my thoughts as well. Eventually, I honed these skills and built a successful consulting business as an intuitive animal communicator, helping people fix unresolved problems with their pets. Connecting with an animal's "soul essence"* is something that I actually can't turn off — it's completely automatic for me. Their essence flows to and through me as I paint their portraits. This might seem odd, but I believe that it allows me to capture a pet in the truest, most accurate and lifelike sense. The psychic abilities I utilize in my pet portraits are a big plus for creating a great end result that you'll treasure forever.

  *Even if a pet has passed, the connection I make with them while making the painting is the same I make with those that are still living, because the "soul essence" of who they are does not disappear.

  
  
  
  

  

  "Gilbert", custom watercolor pet portrait, 10" x 10"

  
  

• I hinge the painting on the eyes. After I've done an underdrawing, I carefully start painting the eyes. So much is conveyed through the eyes of any living being, so I pay particularly close attention to depicting their qualities and expressiveness. I always do the eyes first because if they aren't just right, the end portrait won't be right, and it should be scrapped and started over. My clients always remark on how lifelike the eyes in my paintings are, and therefore, how I've really captured the personality of their pet. (This is especially meaningful to them when their pet is no longer living.)
  

  

  In-progress portrait of "Bebop," showing the underdrawing made in pencil. This is used not only as my painting guide, but to send to my clients as a confirmation before I start laying in paint.

  
  

• I'm picky about the source photos I work from. I worked for many years as an advertising art director. One of the things art directors are expert at is going through large numbers of potential photos, judging which have the best composition, lighting, and gesture. Art directors also know how to edit and selectively crop photos for the greatest impact. These skills are very useful when I'm working with a client to decide on what will make the best portrait of their pet.
  

• I take the time and care that realism requires. I've seen many pet portraits that look like cartoons or caricatures — that's just not my style. The details unique to each pet are what makes the painting look like them. The relationship one has with a pet is unlike any other connection you'll ever have, and although my paintings are certainly joyful, I take creating them really seriously!
  

"Finn", custom watercolor pet portrait, 8" x 8"

See more animal paintings — including wildlife — on my Instagram page, or contact me on my Connect page to learn more about commissioning your own custom portrait.

"Charlie", custom pet portrait, 9" x 12"