The Art of a Dog - Turning Your Pet's Photo into Art
Updated: Nov 8, 2020
I remember walking around Walt Disney World about five years ago during the Food and Wine Festival and finding an artist booth where dogs, cats, and wine paintings were being showcased. I had never really thought of turning a photo into an original painting prior to this, but there was something so special about having an original piece of art of one of our pets, I just couldn't turn away. Thus began my love with pet art.
Original Art
I love to collect all kinds of art from high-end original oil paintings to cartoon ceramic animal characters that I find in antique shops, so it only came natural to include art depicting our pets in our home as well. When Bailey was a baby, I commissioned an original painting of her (still with floppy ears) from a local Houston artist.
This can be a bit of an investment, but it is a great way to support our local artists and is truly a special piece that you will have for years to come. I still treasure and proudly display this beautiful canvas in my photography studio at home!
Unexpected Art
Bailey is a well-traveled pup and has visited multiple states with me. One of my absolute favorite places to take her is Alexandria, Virginia. This historic town is incredibly dog friendly, with the majority of shops allowing dogs. They even have an annual dog trick-or-treat in the historic downtown. It's amazing. One year, a local artist was offering silhoutte drawings of your pup for a small fee at the Dog Park, a cute little pet story located downtown. I was so pleased that I happened to be visiting the same weekend she was there, and was able to obtain this drawing of Bailey!
Digital Art
More recently, I have become very interested in digital art. It is very budget friendly, and by purchasing digital art you can easily support artists across the world! This month I ordered two digital prints of Bentley and Bailey from Galaxy Paw (IG handle @galaxypawco). For Bailey, I ordered a digital watercolor flower pet portrait, and for Bentley, I ordered a one-line portrait. Below you can see the photos I provided on the left and the artist rendition on the right. Both are so beautiful and unique!
If you love these, I do have a 30% discount code (CRYSTAL30) that you can use to purchase digital art of your pup from Galaxy Paw. Link located on my shopping page here.
I think taking a photo of your pet and creating a one-of-a-kind artist rendering is such a special gift and purchasing this art is vital to keeping our artist community alive. I would love to hear what custom portraits and digital art you have purchased! Leave a comment below or email me to let me know so I can also check them out!