This girl lived a wonderful life, to the age of 16. Her portrait was commissioned by an art dealer, and was based on a photo taken while in London. Many well-loved dogs seem to smile, but this dog really seemed to always be smiling in a very real way. I hope I captured her joyous nature. Her portrait now resides in Las Vegas with her owner who misses her greatly.

 A gentleman from Tokyo reached out to me a few years ago to paint an 8x10" of his yellow lab dog as a memorial for his family and their loss.  More recently, he again let me know that both of his French bulldogs had passed away, some time apart, and he asked me to paint them together on an 8x10" canvas. 

Since shipping them to Japan, I have wondered how the family displayed these paintings ultimately, and recently he posted an image of this as a comment on another painting of mine shown on Facebook, and I thought this was an excellent way to see these paintings in his home. 

It's no surprise that many college freshmen are moving away from pets they love at the end of every summer, and living in an unfamiliar place. Many times, I hear of students feeling sad to leave a pet they've raised for many years, and it's one more thing to make the student sad about leaving home.

A custom painted pet portrait is great way to remind them of home and the family pet they leave behind. This example is an 8x10" canvas (which I painted with school colors in mind) will be framed and hung in a dorm room this fall! I've also created other sizes made to sit on bookshelves and desks as well.

When you go to decorate your freshman's dormitory room, make sure to have a little bit of home in view as part of the decor.

This is Opie. He's painted on an 8x8" canvas, and was given as a gift from parents to a daughter in memory of their beloved family dog who lost his life from a snakebite. Such as sad story! and I just hope that this dog's pet portrait is a pleasant reminder of the great life that Opie lived with a family that cared so much for him.

I was asked to paint a portrait of Stella, a big black and white dog on a small canvas. One of my favorite sizes to work on, 6x8". Working on smaller items reminds me how I enjoy zooming in to work on the details so much. Really enjoyed working on this painting for a very nice family.

While many individuals ask for custom painted pet portraits for any number of reasons, by far one of the most popular is for a gift, often from a wife to a husband or the other way around. Searching for the perfect gift idea has always been a lot of pressure for me personally, and I'm pleased to be able to provide something of joy and value to anyone looking for an unforgettable unique gift.  

The paintings featured here are both gift items, one from a groom to his new bride as a wedding gift. The other is a gift from a husband to his wife to complete their set of pet portraits already hanging in their house.

New custom art is a tremendous way to give a couple something to feature in their new house together, to enjoy their living space and show their love for a pet. Don't you think? If interested in a perfect gift like this for your loved one, your parent, your teenager or anyone special in your life, contact me and I will help you out!

This little fella belongs to a couple in the Tulsa area, and he is a vivacious, fun, and slightly wild family member. His custom dog portrait was requested by the husband looking for a gift for his wife, who is just crazy about this dog. He's painted on 11x14 inch canvas. 

None of the pictures I got after I finished are particularly good photos, but this will give you a pretty good idea how it turned out. Be sure to notice how the different light sources affect the photo, especially in the dark areas of his fur.

My customers often surprise me with their creativity with how they choose to display and frame the pet portraits.

This pair of 9x12" pooch paintings is a great example.

I knew when I began the paintings that the buyer planned to frame them, and I had in mind a modern, black, narrow profile frame molding, since these are a bit abstract and modern, and large in size.

But the ever-clever customer had a different idea and i think it turned out amazingly.

The 5" wide distressed, ornate southern cream color offsets the blues and greens and brings a connection to the highlights of the dogs that I would not have expected.

And to see them hung together vertically in this way is so dramatic, that even in the corner of the room, they catch your eye.

Pleasant surprises are always welcome, and I'm glad to learn a little myself.