Custom Hand-Painted Watercolor Pet Commissions
Fine Art Heirloom Portraits
begin with the love you have for your furry, feathered, or exotic family members. From your photos, Joy creates expressive pet paintings in professional, high-quality watercolors. Hand-painted, custom, heirloom paintings made to last generations.
How to Get a Hand-painted Custom Pet Portrait…
Cooper and his favorite toy.
One.
When booking a custom, hand-painted portrait take a moment to think about your pet’s personality. Joy loves to create expressive watercolor paintings capturing that personality. To help, think about what stands out about your pet. Does he have a favorite place, a favorite toy, or maybe it’s the one ear that sticks up when your pet is curious? When booking your pet’s portrait and choosing photos for painting, these are things to consider.
Philburt, the 27 year old, Red-eared Slider.
Two.
What should be included in your hand-painted portrait? Think about the basics to include. How many pets in the painting? Size of space where you plan to put the painting? Background or white background? Peek-a-boo style, head shot style, or full body? All these questions help determine size and pricing of your custom, hand-painted portrait.
Gwendolyn & Penelope, adorable Calico Kitties.
Three.
Message Joy (below) to discuss your hand-painted watercolor pet portrait. Every portrait is different, unique.
Feel free to share about your pet and ask questions.
What others are saying...
“Henry awaits framing, but he is truly magnificent. Joy came to our farm and met him and truly captured his peacefulness and kindness in the photo. She is a most wonderful artist. the shading and attention to detail is remarkable. Can’t give her enough praise.” pwalden
“I smile every time I look at the beautiful portrait of my baby bird Keebler that Joy painted. I love it so much that I can’t decide the best place to display it, because I want it in every room of my house! Joy’s talent is amazing, and she captured Keebler to a T. Thank you, Joy, for creating such a perfect portrait of my baby! And for making the purchase process seamless, and shipping her to me so quickly!” Wozzomom
“It is beyond any expectation I could possible have had! Had it done for a dear, dear friend who lost her beloved Caroline after years. Her first words were, “/she captured all of her colors - all of her!” Others have raved over how it IS Caroline and couldn’t be mistake for another parrot. Joy is a true master of her art!” Deborah
Contact Joy.
“I look forward to painting a special memory for you. I love getting to know your pet and conveying that personality in an expressive rendition.” —Joy
The Creation Process:
Each hand-painted portrait takes between 30-40 hours., to capture the expression and personality of your pet. Every painting is created with the quality Winsor & Newton professional watercolors, which are proven to last generations. I always use 100% cotton rag, archival HP watercolor paper to prevent yellowing over time.
Find your favorite photo of your pet. Ideally this should be…
Taken at the your pet’s eye level.
Taken in daylight or natural light to enhance your pet’s features.
Taken without posing. Take your time, and keep your phone handy to snap photos as you see your pet during natural activities.
Send several photos, include a few close-ups of eyes and distinguishing features.
During the painting process…
As soon as the initial sketch is created for your hand-painted portrait, you will be sent a scan of it to approve. Once approved, I will begin painting.
I post the preliminary sketches on Facebook and Instagram for you and others to follow along the painting process. It is fun to watch a painting go from a sketch, through a sort of “ugly duckling” phase, and into the wonderful pet you know and recognize.
Unless this is a gift, and you do not want the person to see it, I will tag you in the post to make it easier for you to keep up with the painting process. You are welcome to provide feedback at anytime in the process. If this is a gift, please let me know. I will not tag you in the posts.
The most common sizes requested:
8" x 10"/20cm x 25cm *$200.00 + $50.00 USD non-refundable booking fee ($200 due when you are happy with the portrait)
11"x 14"/25cm x 35cm *$375.00 + $50.00 USD non-refundable booking fee ($375 due when you are happy with the portrait)
12"x 16"/ 30cm x 40cm *$600.00 + $50 USD non-refundable booking fee ($600 due when you are happy with the portrait)
Other sizes may be discussed with Joy.
*Prices quoted may vary depending on background choices, number of pets included and whether it is a head, peek-a-boo style, or full body style. Prices quoted above are for one pet, white background, head shot or pee-a-boo style. Full body, adding more than one pet, backgrounds etc is quoted on a case by case basis.
Note: Every painting is created with Winsor & Newton Professional Watercolor paints and 100% cotton high-quality HP watercolor paper. The use of professional, high quality materials creates a painting that even the next generation and thereafter can enjoy.
Also Note: deposits for book help cover part of the materials purchased for your hand-painted pet portrait and are not refundable. Deposits are due before the painting process begins. We will set a date at the time of booking.
