Custom Pet Portraits Starting at $75 – Hand-Painted from Your Photos

Having your dog or cat hand-painted on canvas is probably less expensive than you think. I am a professional artist residing in Phoenix, Arizona who specializes in dog, cat and other pet portraits from photos. Hand-painted Custom Pet Portraits on gorgeous, professional quality stretched canvas, in a variety of styles to suit your decor and personal aesthetic, ALL start at under $100.

In fact, at the time of this post, my least expensive option, simply because it's the smallest, is just $75.

Below are the various styles of pet portraits I offer. Click the link below each one to view size and pricing options. Rest assured that each order, no matter how small or large, is treated with the same care and  customer service. 

Click the title below any of the portrait styles above to see pricing and size options for that style, or click here to go to my Etsy shop, which has them all on one page. As always, if you have any questions at all I'd be happy to answer them! Click here to send me a message. 

Realistic Dog Portraits from Photos

Recently I've posted a bit about my colorful pet portraits, but did you know that I also paint realistic dog portraits from photos (or cats, horses, you name it!)? I absolutely love to paint classical, elegant portraits of dogs, cats and other pets. 

If You are interested in having your pet's portrait painted from your photos in a beautiful, realistic style, please click here to view size and pricing options.

Here are a few samples of realistic dog and cat portraits I've completed for customers.

 

Custom Day of the Dead Dog Portraits

You can order a custom portrait of your dog hand-painted on canvas or rice paper in Day of the Dead portrait style for under $100!

Please check out my Pet Portraits page to look at your style options, or click on the links below to go directly to the ordering pages for each of my day of the dead Pet Portrait styles.

Day of the Dead / Contemporary Fusion Pet Portrait - Acrylic Paint on Canvas

Click here to order!

Tattoo-Inspired Day  of the Dead Pet Portrait - Fluid Acrylics on Rice Paper

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Day of the Dead Style Pet Portrait or Memorial - Acrylic Paint on Canvas

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What style of pet portrait is right for you?

I offer a variety of styles of pet portrait paintings. Check out your options below to decide which style best suits you and your pet. Remember, every pet portrait commission is completely custom, so you can make requests as well!

Ordering a custom pet portrait is easy and fun. Click below each style to go to the ordering page. Then I'll walk you through the rest (hint: you send me photos of your pet and some information about his or her personality, and I take it from there!)

Colorful Custom Pet Portrait

This colorful pet portrait is painted on canvas, with as much or as little bold use of color as you'd like. These portraits tend to have a lot of energy and really brighten up a room.

Click here to order your colorful pet portrait.

Traditional Pet Portrait

My traditional pet portraits are painted with more of a "realism" style and are an elegant accent to any room. You can always request a few extra pops of color to be added to these portraits if you choose.

Click here to order your traditional pet portrait.

Day of the Dead Pet Portrait

I create these paintings with a fusion of my painting style with the amazingly beautiful Mexican Day of the Dead style for a truly unique piece of art featuring your beloved animal. It is a dreamy and surreal take on portraiture.

Click here to order your Day of the Dead pet portrait.

Day of the Dead Pet Portrait on Rice Paper

These sugar skull portraits are painted in more of a "tattoo" style, on beautiful, hand-made rice paper with a gorgeous emulsion of sea shell powder that gives it a lustrous surface. They include your pet's name in a banner as shown.

Click here to order your Day of the Dead pet portrait.

Day of the Dead Style Pet Memorial

Similar to the previous portrait, these are painted in a Day of the Dead style with your pet's name in a banner. The difference is that these are painted on canvas, so there are more size options, and the entire background is hand-painted with flower accents. This is a popular pet memorial painting.

Click here to order your Day of the Dead pet portrait.

Pet Portraits – Custom Painted Pet Portraits in Pocket Size

These small, custom pet portraits are absolutely adorable and are perfect as gifts or as “pocket portraits” to fit easily in your cubicle at work, on your bedside table, or even into your suitcase when you travel! Slide one into somebody special’s stocking during the holidays or tuck one into a little gift bag for a BIG surprise! These little beauties have the same high quality work put into them as my very popular larger portraits on canvas… they’re just smaller!

Order your “pocket portrait” here!

These portraits are painted on DaVinci Pro Panels – strong wood panels crafted from fine-grained Birch wood for long-term warp resistance and a fantastic archival painting surface. They are gesso-primed, painted with professional acrylic paints, then finished with a beautiful gloss varnish for protection, beauty and longevity.

You have your choice of a 4″ x 6″ or 5″ x 5″ panel.

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Pet Portraits Painted from Photos – Tips for the Perfect Reference Photo

Capturing a great photo of your pet is the first step in getting an amazing painted pet portrait!

When you hire me to paint a custom portrait of your pet, quality reference material is the key to an amazing finished painting!

There are, of course, exceptions to this rule. When I'm painting a memorial portrait, I know the customer can't follow my guide to capture an ideal photo, and that's OK. In those cases, I simply ask for as many photos as you can provide, from a variety of angles, and I create a great portrait anyway. I've even painted a portrait of two best buddy dogs together when one passed and their owner realized he'd never captured that "perfect" photo of the two dogs together.

Barring that unavoidable scenario, there's no reason you (yes, YOU!) can't capture a fabulous photo of your pet by following a few easy guidelines. This may even change the way you photograph your pets from now on!

Read on for my fail-safe guide to photographing your pet, and when you're done, be sure to visit my Pet Portraits page for information on ordering a painting created from your beautiful photo!

1. Get down to "pet level"

Photos taken from "human" height tend to look down on your pet, and that results in awkward photos. Get down on the ground yourself for some great angles right at eye-level with your pet. You'll be surprised how much better your photographs turn out with this simple adjustment in angle!

Tip: prop a treat up on top of your camera to encourage your pet to look towards the camera with a bright, eager expression!

2. Take your photos at the highest quality level your camera or phone offers

I can paint with great detail if the detail exists within the reference photo itself. Fuzzy, low-quality, grainy or pixelated photos don't give me a lot of fine detail to work with. Zoom in on the photos as you take them to make sure they're focused, crisp and full of all of that great detail I love to reference in the paintings themselves!

3. Light is your friend when taking photos of your pet!

Both overly dark photos, taken in deep shadows or dark homes, or overly bright photos with glaring sun, can destroy the subtle shadows and highlights that give the best result in your final photo. However, soft, natural light is wonderful! One great way to achieve this indoors is to take the photo by a glass door or large window, which will allow the light to softly wash over your pet for a beautiful effect.

Tip: Pro photographers call the time shortly after sunrise and right before sunset 'The Magic Hour" because the light has a gorgeous, soft, gold-to-red glow. If you can take a photo of your pet outside at this time, nature will provide you with absolutely stunning light!

4. Avoid these common errors

See below some examples of what not to do when photographing your pet:

Christmas Gifts for Pet Lovers

It's time to start thinking about Christmas gifts, especially if you want to give a unique, custom gift such as a hand-painted pet portrait. I already have half-a-dozen orders in for Christmas. I love those early orders, because they give plenty of time for me to spend making their portrait just right!

I have many options available for the pet-lovers on your Christmas list. Check out my Pet Portraits page for a variety of styles of custom-painted portraits for everybody on your list. I offer everything from traditional pet portraits, to bold and colorful pet portraits, to tattoo-style paintings of you pet… even Day of the Dead style pet paintings! A custom pet portrait is a one-of-a-kind gift that is surprisingly affordable and sure to be treasured for years to come. My portrait options start at less than $100!

If you're looking for something a little different for the dog or cat lover on your Christmas list, try browsing around my Etsy shop. I have many ready-made gifts such as hand-painted tote bags with a variety of art on them, already painted dog and cat art, prints and more. Explore, and find a hand-made gift for everybody on your list!

Happy holiday shopping!

Click on any of the images below to order a similar style of pet portrait! You'll see all of the size and pricing options right on the page in my shop.

Memorial Pet Portraits in Three Styles – Custom Portraits Honor the Memory of Lost Pets

I painted three memorial pet portraits this week, and as I finished the third, it struck me how beautiful it is that each customer had a very specific and personal idea about how they wanted the portrait created.

One wanted angel wings on their sweet boy, one wanted a more traditional portrait, and one wanted a very stylized portrait showing his beloved girl in the tall grass in which she loved to play, with a bird in the sky reminding him how she loved to chase after them.

It's such an honor to be asked to create these pet memorials.

It is never easy to lose a pet. They are members of our family, our "fur babies" as I call my own dogs. I think a beautiful custom portrait that will last for generations is a lovely way to honor their memory.

In addition to the three styles I mention in this article, I have more portrait options on my Pet Portraits page.

Five Great Christmas Gift Ideas for Pet Lovers

August is around the time I start getting inquiries for Christmas orders. It may seem a bit early, but here's a secret… I LOVE the early holiday shoppers! It gives me that extra bit of breathing room to work on their portraits before the big holiday rush.

Here are a few great ideas for holiday gifts for the pet lover in your life!

Dog portrait Christmas Gift

Colorful Pet Portrait

Giving somebody a portrait of their favorite pet is an amazing holiday gift. It shows forethought, planning, and it is completely unique. Plus, it's handmade, so there is ZERO possibility that somebody will give them the same gift. Plus, it lasts a lifetime. Every time they see that portrait on the wall, they'll remember how thoughtful you were to give them a gift that touched their heart, because there is nothing a pet lover appreciates more than something related to their beloved dog, cat, horse, iguana, parakeet… you get the picture!

Click here to order a pet portrait.

Dog portrait Christmas Gift

"Pocket Sized" Colorful Pet Portrait

Slide one of these mini portraits into somebody special's stocking or tuck one into a little gift bag for a BIG surprise! These small, custom pet portraits are absolutely adorable and are perfect as gifts or as "pocket portraits" to fit easily in your favorite pet lover's cubicle at work, bedside table, or even into a suitcase to take that pet's image along during travel! These little beauties have all of the same quality as a larger portrait… they're just smaller! What a fun, unique and thoughtful gift.

Click here to order a mini pet portrait.

Dog portrait Christmas Gift

Surreal Style Pet Portrait

If your favorite pet lover leans towards the more unusual things in life, this is a gift like no other! These custom portraits are a fusion of my contemporary painting style with the amazingly beautiful Mexican Day of the Dead style for a truly unique piece of art featuring your beloved animal. It is a dreamy and surreal take on portraiture that is sure to please the dog or cat lover on your Christmas list!

Click here to order a surreal and dreamy pet portrait.

Dog portrait Christmas Gift

Tattoo Style Pet Portrait

Does the pet lover on your list like a little rock-n-roll mixed in with their art? Then this tattoo-style pet portrait is just the ticket to ace your Christmas giving this holiday season. These 8" x 10" portraits are painted in fluid acrylics on hand-made rice paper with a gorgeous emulsion of sea shell powder that gives it a lustrous surface. They are custom portraits created from your photos in a really special and unusual style, with the pet's name hand-painted right in the banner. Nobody will be expecting this amazing gift!

Click here to order a tattoo style pet portrait.

Perfect Christmas Gift for Pet Lovers

Pick Any of my Other Hand-Painted Gifts for the Win!

Maybe a portrait just isn't what you want to give. No problem! I have a wide selection of hand-painted gifts in my store that are ready to please the most discriminating pet lover on your shopping list. From hand-painted tote bags and pillows, to prints, jewelry boxes, and even some original paintings already painted and ready to hang on the wall, I've got you covered. Stop by my store and browse around!

Click here to browse through my online store.

Custom Pet Portraits Make Great Gifts!

Best Gifts for Pet Lovers

When it comes to people who adore their pets, you know what kind of gifts they treasure most. Gifts that relate to their pets! Even better are personalized pet gifts. The challenge can be finding items they don't already have, and ones that will last a long time.

The best gift for the dog, cat or horse lover in your life (or bird, reptile, you name it!) may be a portrait of their pet. Looking at the responses I've received from some of my clients who have commissioned a portrait of a friend or loved one's pet, it's a surefire win in the gifting department!

Click here to order a portrait!

"When I saw the painting for the first time I was amazed and knew my wife would love it… [it] even brought her to tears. This one painting symbolizes so much for me, my wife and our puppy Rey…"

"Beautiful. I couldn't think of a better way to honor the memory of my dog… I love it!"

"Such wonderful paintings! I can't wait to order more!"

"Perfect gift for a family that recently lost their pet."

If you'd like to order a portrait, the process is easy and fun! Click here to view available sizes and pricing details. You can also give a gift certificate for a portrait to allow your friend or loved one to be a part of the process as I create the painting.

Bottom line: the perfect gift that will last a lifetime is a click away. How easy was that?