Pet portraits are not something I set out to do… I started out painting wildlife. I still love painting wildlife, but a lot of folks starting asking me to paint their “faminals” (which is Travis’ and my term for family animals… because our own animals feel like family to us). One thing led to another, and it’s become a big part of what I do.
It started with Cane—the beautiful white German Shepherd puppy that my friends Gary and & Lucy rescued from a neighbor of mine who was neglecting him. I take a ton of joy in how happy Cane is now that he lives with them (!), so I was excited to try to paint him for them. I wasn’t sure if I’d be able to capture his spirit… and that’s the most important thing to anyone who loves their pet: that the animal in my painting feel like THEIR animal. Luckily, I found that I was able to accurately represent the adoring way Cane looks at Gary—and so my pet portrait painting began.
Since then I’ve been very fortunate to be commissioned to paint many “faminals.” It’s a privilege to be able to give folks a portrait that they can keep forever—a representation that reminds them of the love that they have with their furry (or feathered, or scaled) companions. Love is love—and anyone who loves their animal knows that it’s just as real whether they’re human or not. :)
I paint cats, birds, fish, reptiles... pretty much any animal you can think of. I’ve even recently been commissioned to paint a squirrel someone loved for years. There’s so much joy in our relationships with animals. I’m glad to be a part of that. To contact me about a portrait of your own animals please reach out to me at 512-422-2176.