Overview
Considering my love of painting animals, wildlife, and nature in general, it is a natural progression for me to enter the world of commissioned pet portraits.
I work in both acrylic paint and soft pastels. Pastel creates a softer image more conducive for replicating fur, while my acrylic paintings have a lot of texture and energy.  Either medium can be used for Traditional or Personality Portraits.

Traditional Portraits
Tradional portraits, such as the dog duo to the right and the cat to the left are normally more refined and "posed." The Pups is painted with soft pastels on suede board. Katie the Lady is also a pastel, but done on lightly textured pastel paper.
Nado (above) is a combination of Traditional and Personality styles. He is rendered in soft pastel on a highly textured pastel paper.


Personality Portraits
This is MY Chair is a painting of Max, a huge mix breed who is the alpha pet in a house of 3 cats and a dog. Somehow, he has the impression that he is the alpha human as well, as he demonstrates by taking over the most comfortable chair in front of the tv. I visited with Max and his human and snapped a few photos from which I composed this acrylic painting.
Katie at Play is a portrait of my beloved cat. Katie is an only cat in a world of 5 humans, countless fish, a chinchilla, and various hermit crabs.  She is normally very refined and graceful unless a small, rubber bouncy ball is produced. Then she turns into a canine-like streak...chasing and sliding...whatever it takes to get the ball. This painting is also an acrylic on canvas.

Commissioning a Pet Portrait
Since I want your portrait to be a special as your pet it, I prefer to discuss the details of the portraits personally, either through e-mail or by phone.

I work from photographs but I do not "copy" a photograph exactly, rather I use them as a tool to compose an original composition that reflects both your wishes and the character of your pet.  I can work from your photographs as long as there is at least 1 good quality close up of your pet's face.

For any commission, including pet portraits, 50% of the price is due as a deposit before starting to ensure the sincerity of the request. I will discuss composition ideas with you and provide rough sketches to be sure we have the same vision. After completion, you will either be shown the original or e-mailed a digital photo for approval. Payment is due in full before delivery of the portrait.

To commission your portrait, please contact me at charlotte@demolay.com or 214-450-9800. Please allow 4-6 weeks from the time I receive your deposit until completion.

Pricing

Pricing is for one pet. For additional pets please add $70 each. Only one pet in the 5 x 7 or 8 x 10 size.

Larger sizes are available.

Prices do not include sales tax or shipping costs. Prices are subject to change without notice.

Artwork is produced for the customer's personal use only and may not be used for financial gain. I retain full copyright on all my work, including reproduction rights.

Framing
One of the biggest dilemmas when commissioning a Pet Portrait is the medium, Acrylic or Pastel. Initially, the pastel looks more attractive because it appears to be less expensive. While I do charge signficantly less for pastels since they are far less time consuming than acrylics, the cost difference is negated when framing is factored in.

Pastels
Pastels must be framed to be displayed. I will include instructions for framing pastels with the completed portrait. Pastels must be framed under glass instead of Plexi-glass due to static electricity.

Acrylic
I paint on "gallery-wrapped" canvas meaning that the canvas is stapled or tacked to the back of the stretcher bars instead of the side. This allows me to paint the sides of the painting as well as the front. My acrylic portraits can be hung without a frame. I can also use different profiles widths depending on your framing intentions. This does not add to the cost of the portrait. Acrylics do not need any glass or matboard, just the frame.

I can provide suggestions on framing, but I do not mat or frame the completed portrait. Please consider the added cost of framing when deciding upon medium (pastel or acrylic) and size.