Fido Framed
How to commission a custom portrait of your petby Maria Coder
SudzAnne Leuck Feldhaus
Think your pooch has what it takes to be the next Mona Lisa? Perhaps all you need is to find your very own paw-sonal Leonardo (Da Vinci), or maybe Vincent Van Gogh is more your style. But with all the art and artists out there, how do you decide what's the right way to immortalize your pup?
Once you've decided the style you prefer, talking to the artists themselves is an excellent way to start. Since most pet artists are pet parents themselves, they take their work very much to heart.
"I love hearing the stories about the animals. Everybody has such a fun and unique relationship with their pet. It's a joy bringing that to life and adding all their color," says Anne Leuck Feldhaus of www.annesart.com.
Anne describes her art as a mix of contemporary folk and urban pop. Her sketches are first scanned into a computer then hand-painted on canvas. This allows pet parents to get a clear picture of their portrait, explosive with color, in its early stages (including personalized touches like cityscapes and flying beggin' strips). "I have them tell me funny stories and silly things about their pet and I do drawings based on that."
GrinMichelle Abeyta
Michelle Abeyta, of www.abeytacreative.com, takes a similar approach. "I don't take myself too seriously. It's all about having fun and making people smile with my art." Michelle, who works in acrylics, describes her art as fun and whimsical, think "Clifford meets Blue Dog"; she also makes pet sculptures out of polymer clay.
If you're moved by a softer style, you may want to find someone who works in watercolor. Kathy Weller of www.kathyweller.com, works in pen, ink and liquid watercolor on paper. She says pet portraiture is always an adventure. "People contact you and they're excited to do a painting. It's not like going to the accountant or anything like that; it's fun."
A good portrait artist can capture the expression and personality of your pet regardless of the medium. Liza Graziotto of the www.thehowlingcanvas.com is a Canadian artist who paints more traditional portraits. Her style is to create portraits that can really capture a pet in the moment. "A hundred years from now when someone's looking at the painting they can kind of say 'Oh, I see what's going on with that dog.'"
Daisy & RubyKathy Weller
Lots of artists use a variety of media, and make those choices available to their customers. Peggy Krizak of www.peggykrizak.com works in pastels, oil, charcoal, and mixed media. She's also done collector's plates. Peggy says once she got so inspired her art seeped into real life. "I was working on a portrait of a pet in a leather chair and I honestly felt I could smell the leather when I was done."
So how do you go about commissioning a portrait of your own? That's easy. In this day and age, a whole world of artists are just a few clicks away. All the artists mentioned in this piece along with countless others are set up to receive photos via e-mail. Many artists also offer phone contacts to discuss commissions.
The more information you can provide, the better. "Sometimes I'm doing a full body portrait and I receive photographs where the dog's legs have been cut off so I don't really know what his toes look like," says Lisa, "so I like to receive lots of photos."
Most artists agree that several excellent photos are key. What happens if you don't have a lot to share? "I ask for a full frontal and a full side shot and some wacky play shots," says Kathy, but "I basically work with whatever people supply."
EarlLisa Graziotto
If you have specific things in mind, it's good to share those too. "Some people will completely leave the portrait up to me. Some people will give me fabric swatches," says Michelle, who at times has been asked to match her portraits to a person's home color-scheme or place the pet in a particular backdrop.
If you live near the artist, an in-studio session may be beneficial and a real treat for the artist as well. "Every time I walked into the studio I laughed because the personality oozed out of this dog, Bailey the English Bulldog. I'll never forget. His pet name was 'pig butt' and he'd make me laugh and laugh. In every picture the personality just came out. I had a ball," says Peggy, of one of her more memorable in-house visits.
Another perk is watching your pet interact with the artist's pet. "The Basset Hound that came to my house had ears to the ground. I didn't know that Basset Hounds drooled so much. When the dog left I looked over at my dog Izzie who had this giant wisp of saliva across the face from this giant Basset Hound," laughed Anne.
Fortunately, for those not within driving range, photos are more than enough to do the job well.
Between e-mailing back and forth, snapping photos, and maybe an office visit or two, it seems like the process of commissioning a dog portrait may take a long time. Not so — within reason.
McGyverPeggy Krizak
"Usually my slower times have a turnaround of 2-3 weeks. In my busiest time I tell people a a month," says Michelle. October through December she paints about 10 hours a day and gives herself 6 weeks per commission to be safe. "Late December I'll take orders up till the last minute. I tend to finish my Christmas orders around 3 a.m. the 23rd of December."
Of course, from start to finish, your time frame may also vary depending on what medium you choose. Three weeks for a portrait isn't what you'll find with every artist. Most portraits are completed within 2 months. Many artists will do rush orders but there's only so much they can do to speed up the process.
Lisa, who works in oil, for instance, needs more than two weeks before she can even think about packaging it up and shipping it out. "They do need time to dry before I can put a varnish on it." As an alternative, many artists offer gift certificates for last-minute pet portrait requests.
Which brings us to cost.
Just about every artist will require a down payment. Most pet portraits require 25-50% of the final cost upfront. Some artists ask for 25 percent now, 25 percent half way through, and 50 percent upon completion.
Very small pet portraits (like 5" x 7") may start as low as $55. Most settle within the $150-$400 range (around 18" x 24"); others (24" x 30") may go for about $2000 or more. The cost is determined by the size of the portrait, the number of pets, additional details, and the type of medium used. You'll find many pet artists list their prices clearly.
A lot of pet portraiture artists will work with you on payment methods. "I'll break up payments," says Michelle, "I try to make it so that my art can be as affordable as possible."
What can you do if you're not satisfied with the end result?
Site after site, artists had happiness policies and satisfaction guarantees. While each pet artist handled returns differently, hardly any of them had any work sent back or revamped. The secret is the open communication process during the beginning stages of the portrait.
While pet portraiture remains a business, a booming one at that, most artists will tell you the pet is really at the forefront.
"When I deliver a portrait or people walk in my studio it makes them laugh and it's supposed to make them laugh," says Michelle. "I'm thrilled to death that people pay me to paint."
