My favourite subjects to paint are animals including dogs, cats, horses, birds and other exotic wildlife. It's as simple as sending me your favourite photos and I'll work my magic to create a unique portrait painting of your beloved pet. Sometimes a good photograph may not be available of your pet so I've written some valuable tips on how to photograph your pet. To capture the personality of your pet, you can even send us videos along with your pet photos so I can truly create a unique portrait for you.

If your pet has passed on, not to worry because I can use as many photographs that you have and with the addition of other reference material and tools, I can still create a painting that represents a unique likeness of your pet for you to cherish.

Acrylic and oil portraits are created on gallery style back-stapled canvases so they don’t need to be framed and are ready to hang. Customers can optionally have the painting framed at their favourite framing shop. Paintings and graphite drawings can also be done on TerraSkin which is paper made from stone. No trees, water or bleach is used to create this wonderful surface. Your pet portrait on TerraSkin can go into a regular store bought frame with or without glass. Pastel portraits are done on a suede type of material that can be fitted into a regular frame.

Turnaround Time
The time it takes to complete a portrait depends on the current workload and the quality of the photographs that the customer provides. Usually it takes 6-8 weeks to complete a portrait. Oil portraits take a little longer to dry, but well worth it!    Photographs of the painting in progress can be emailed upon request.

Shipping
When the portrait painting is dry and ready to be shipped, it will be packed flat using packing material that is safe for your painting. Any printed reference material that was provided along with information on how to clean your painting will be sent along with the painting.

We use Canada Post Expedited or Xpresspost service for shipping paintings as it includes insurance and a tracking number. Other couriers such as UPS can be used upon request.

Pet Portrait Gifts
If you are giving the pet portrait as a gift item, the painting can be shipped to the customer direct, or to the gift receiver along with a gift card. If you are ordering a pet portrait for as a Christmas gift, we recommend that you place your order no later than July.

Pricing – Canadian Dollars

50% Deposit is required before painting is started. Balance of payment is due before painting is shipped to the customer. Applicable taxes will appear on the final billing.

In many cases clients may supply more than one picture for the pet portrait to be created. This is especially evident should the portrait be for a pet that has passed.

	Gracie - Portrait of a Boxer Puppy 8 x 10 Graphite portrait of Gracie was alot of fun to create. The photograph provided showed Gracie in what looks like to be a garden area, next to a Terra Cotta pot that was knocked over. Looking at Gracie's face, you can probably guess who knocked it over. I felt the the focus of Gracie should be the wonderful look on her face, so I cropped out all the background foliage and Gracie's owner just loves it. This graphite portrait is also featured in the December 2011 issue of Interactive Artist Magazine.
	Harley - Dog Portrait For this 10 x 10 graphite drawing on Vellum, Harley's 4 x 6 SPCA photo was used.
	Buttercup - Rabbit Portrait This 9 x 9 graphite drawing was done from a photo of Buttercup next to another rabbit. Buttercup is a rescued bunny and the photo was taken by Nigel Wedge.
	Lizzy - Dog Portrait Many small, poor quality photos were provided for this pet portrait. By combining elements from various photos, a true likeness of Lizzy was created in this 12 x 12 Oil painting.
	Buddy - Memorial Dog Portrait Buddy had recently passed on and this 12 x 12 oil portrait was created to represent Buddy's gentleness. The owner was extremely happy with the creation.
	Chaos - Cat Portrait Paintings that show the pets true character are fun to create. This 9 x 12 oil painting of Chaos shows what she's good at.
	Licorice - Equine Portrait Equine portraits are popular for horse owners that show their horses in various events. This 12 x 16 painting was created with B&W acrylics and then a transparent layer of oils applied to finish it off.
	Zebra - Wildlife Painting Graphic wildlife art is a favourite among many. This 12 x 24 painting was created in oils on a linen canvas.
	Tiger in Training 16 x 20 Pastel Painting on Suedeboard
	Bird Paintings Birds are a favourite subject for everyone. Songbirds, domestic/tropical birds and even Birds of Prey paintings make for beautiful accessories for any home.