As much as I love creating portraits of people, I've found that photographing and creating art of clients beloved pets over the years gives me the warm fuzzies. So much so that I decided to dedicate a blog post to it celebrating that very aspect of photography!

If you've ever had a pet, you understand the deep, deep bond you have with your beloved pet. The word "pet" often doesn't feel like the correct term, because they are essentially members of your family. Just like with a child, you remember when they came into your family, and often celebrate their milestones and birthdays even!

So when clients come to me asking for a photo session of their beloved pet, I'm more than happy to oblige. Let's dive into a handful of sessions - and the resulting art portraits - that I've done over the years.

The portrait above is one of my favorites. A dear friend recently lost her cat of over 20 years, and I wanted to gift her a portrait. Taken from a photo, I used digital techniques (not AI) to apply my hand-painted watercolor textures over it. I also added additional painterly touches by hand, using my digital pen and tablet. Then, I had it printed on canvas and proceeded to hand-paint acrylic brush strokes on top of it. Finally, I brushed a final layer of clear, protective acrylic medium to protect the entire piece to give a subtle, deep gloss.

Honestly, the final result was difficult for me to part with because I loved it so much. Over the course of creating these pieces, I grow my own genuine bond with the beloved fur baby. But that's when I know I got it right. But it was totally worth it to give it to her, see her reaction, and know it meant so much to her. Knowing she has the portrait on display in her home is a priceless feeling.

For this piece above, someone reached out and wanted to commission a piece for a heartbroken co-worker who recently lost their beloved frenchie. While it was a difficult occasion for sure, it was also an honor to be trusted to create this piece. As you know, our fur babies' lives often seem far too short, so it incredibly important to preserve their memory through portraits. Having photos on your phone is well and good, but doesn't hold a candle to having a portrait to hang on your wall that you see ever time you walk past it.

Imagine my surprise when I was approached soon after and asked to create another piece, but this time of their new Frenchie they'd recently added to their family. How fun! It was great to have a reason to create a new piece for a happy occasion!

Yes, pet portraits can include their humans too! This particular portrait was create in the fall, and they were able to gather the entire family.

I LOVE creating horse art pieces. Their sheer size and unique presence lend for fantastic artwork. The following is a series of commissioned pieces. With these, their owners actually submitted a photo, and created striking canvas artwork from it.

As you can see, pet portraits are a meaningful, impactful segment of photography. Our beloved pets come in many shapes and forms and deserve to be celebrated! If you have a beloved pet that you'd like to memorialize with custom artwork or photography prints, reach out and we can chat!