Pet Portraits

Recently I’ve had the pleasure of doing a handful of pet portraits and I’ve had a blast doing them. This isn’t a new thing as I’ve done a lot during my career.  People love having “Petraits” done of their furry best friends.  But things are a little different these days for me. Here’s why..

Last year in March, my fiance Haylee and I opened our worlds up to a puppy we called Nova. She’s a Mini Australian Shepherd.  She’s 22 pounds of love, excitement, energy, challenge, and opportunity for personal growth.  She’s my first dog.  I’ve had cats in the past, but having a dog is a whole new experience.  Cats are great in lots of ways, but dogs are interactive on a whole different level.  Cats are less hands on and more independent, which is awesome in many ways.  Dogs need more in an attention and energetic sense, but in turn they give back more.  They’re so excited to see you when you get home, they interact with the outside world so much more.  And from what they demand of you, it forces you to grow and develop even more than you would’ve imagined.

So now when I do these pet portraits, I feel like I’m more connected to them.  I know what goes into these relationships in a deeper and more personal way.  Now that I’ve spent so much time with Nova, I see how dogs think, how they intuitively move and act, and what motivates them.  Dogs and cats have such interesting ways of interacting with the world, each other and us, and they are so unique to their species and breeds.  It’s like each individual animal is it’s own little universe.

The fun thing that’s happened because of these recent projects is that I’ve been given some freedom in the style that I paint them in and it’s been a lot of fun.  I’m getting really colorful and loose with the brush strokes, so the portraits are taking on a life of their own. This is cool because it’s carrying over to what I’ve been doing with other paintings on canvas, and the murals as well (check out my Instagram feed to find the new projects). 

My “Signature Style” is developing through various and new avenues, and it’s really fun.  Which feels like the perfect path to follow…..