With everything rising in price lately, making the decision to purchase anything other than essentials can give one pause. Groceries? Well, I need to eat to survive. Bills? A non-negotiable, sadly. But a custom pet portrait? Perhaps it doesn’t immediately feel like a necessary purchase. However, throughout my time (over seven years now!) as a pet portrait artist, I have found that capturing the spirit of your much-loved fur child on canvas can have value in ways you might not expect.
If you’ve found your way to my blog, you’re probably a little like me – utterly obsessed with pets. And I’m willing to bet your phone is filled to the brim with snaps of your cat or dog- but how often do you actually go back and look through all those photos? So many of us will take a pic and throw the phone back in our bag, and that moment is lost amongst hundreds of photos taken and quickly forgotten. Yes, you could print off a copy, but it seems to be one of those little tasks you never really get around to. But a hand-drawn recreation of your best friend – the sparkle in his eyes, the fold of her ear, that little brown splodge right next to their nose – positioned right by your front door means you’ll smile every time you walk in. You can even make prints of your pet portrait for friends and family to display in their homes as well!
And of course, those photos on your phone are spur-of-the-moment snaps. Often you’ll have five variations of the same photo, trying to capture your pet mid-sprint, all of them a bit blurry. Of course, it’s wonderful to have those memories too, but a personalised pet portrait is a celebration of your pet at their best. You get to choose your absolute favourite picture of them, exactly how you want to remember them forever, and have it captured in a special piece that you can display somewhere special to you. I’ve also found there is often a story behind the photo clients choose to send through of their pet. That particular image immediately brings to mind a special moment, or even a time in their pet’s life, that gives them the fuzzy, warm feeling we all have when thinking about our beloved fur babies.
Perhaps you don’t have a pet right now – but you probably know someone who does. A pet portrait gift is something special and unique that will mean a great deal to someone you love. Each piece is custom and hand-made, so it’s a one-of-a-kind present that no one else can give them. And with Christmas on the way, it’s the perfect time to start thinking about gift-giving.
And finally, something a little bit different. Although I don’t do it often, I have had the honour of working with clients to create a pet portrait tattoo to truly immortalize their furry best friend. This meant a lot to me as I personally have a few tattoos dedicated to my own beloved pets, and it’s such a unique way to carry their memory everywhere with you.
To learn more about me as an artist and what I’m working on, have a look on my Instagram page (@connie_wharton_art – click the link at the bottom of my website!) and sign up for my newsletter for a peek behind the scenes. Thank you for reading!
