Custom Pet Portrait Commissions
Commissioning a custom pet portrait is a personal decision.
Whether you’re honoring a companion who has passed or celebrating one who is still very much part of your life, each portrait is created with care, intention, and respect for the relationship it represents.
Every commission begins with your photographs and is developed through a collaborative process, resulting in a painted artwork on canvas that is finished by hand with acrylic brushwork for texture and depth. These portraits are created as fine art for display in the home, meant to be lived with and remembered.
CHOOSE YOUR PORTRAIT STYLE
SIGNATURE PORTRAITS
Signature Portraits focus on expression and form, using a refined painted background to keep attention on the subject. These portraits offer a timeless, elegant presentation and are ideal for both memorial pieces and portraits of living companions.
STORYSCAPES
Storyscapes place your subject within a meaningful environment, such as a favorite trail, backyard, or historically inspired setting. These portraits add narrative depth and context, resulting in a more immersive and highly personalized artwork.
Want to learn more about Storyscapes? Read this blog post!
No matter which style you choose, each portrait is crafted with care to create a lasting, meaningful work of art. If you’d like help deciding which option best suits your vision, I’m happy to guide you.
What Is THE Commission Process?
1. Initial Connection & Vision
Let’s start with a conversation. Reach out through the contact form to share your subject, ideas, and goals for the portrait. We’ll discuss preferences such as composition, background, and overall feel so we’re aligned from the start.
2. Reference Images & Inspiration
You’ll be invited to share photographs, stories, and any materials that help capture personality and character. Perfection isn’t required — even older or lower-quality images can be useful. Inspiration images or screenshots of styles you’re drawn to are always welcome.
3. Design & Consultation
Once we’ve defined the direction, you’ll receive a quote, contract, and invoice for a non-refundable design and consultation fee, which is credited toward the final cost of your portrait. This phase covers concept development, composition planning, and the creation of a preliminary mockup based on our discussions.
You’ll have the opportunity to review the mockup and provide feedback so we can refine the vision together before moving into the final painting stage.
4. Concept Approval, Agreement & Timeline
After the mockup is approved, we’ll finalize project details including scope, pricing, and timeline. At that point, you’ll receive an invoice for the remaining balance of your painting, and the creation phase will begin.
Once the mockup is approved, most portraits move through the creation and finishing stages over the course of about three weeks, with timing adjusted as needed around holidays and vendor schedules.
5. Creation Process
The digital painting is carefully developed to capture expression, detail, and presence. Once complete, you’ll have an opportunity to review the artwork and request any minor final adjustments. The finished portrait is then printed on high-quality canvas and hand-embellished with acrylics to add texture and depth.
6. Final Review & Delivery
You’ll receive images of the completed artwork, and I’ll coordinate safe delivery of your finished portrait to its new home.
Enjoy Your Painting!
I love receiving photographs of my work once it arrives at its new home. Please feel free to share a photo of the finished piece in your space!
TIMELINE - HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE?
Most commissions are completed within approximately three weeks after the design and consultation phase is complete and the mockup is approved. The early planning stage can vary depending on how quickly reference images are gathered and decisions are made. Once the mockup is approved, the creation and production timeline becomes much more predictable. Timing may also be affected by holidays, studio closures, or vendor schedules. Any scheduling considerations are communicated clearly along the way.
Common questions about pricing, reference photos, and the commission process are answered below.
FAQ
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Custom paintings are priced based on size, complexity, and framing.
Each commission begins with a $100 Design & Consultation Fee, which covers concept development and mockups. Once the design is approved and the final size is selected, you’ll receive a detailed quote for the finished artwork, with the design fee applied as a credit.
For full pricing and size options, visit the Pricing Guide.
Prices do include US shipping. Ohio residents will be charged 8% sales tax. -
A digital painting is created by hand using a stylus and tablet, much like traditional painting, just without physical brushes and canvas in the early stages.
This is not a filter. It takes hours to bring out details in the reference photographs, clone out backgrounds, and then meticulously build up layers of digital “paint” with different-sized brushstrokes and textures. Each image is absolutely unique.
Once the painting is complete, it’s printed on canvas and finished to create a physical piece meant to be displayed and enjoyed, not just viewed on a screen.
IS IT REALLY ART?
Absolutely! There are many different way to create a piece of art, from oils to watercolors, papier-mâché to ceramics... digital painting is just a different technique. It requires years of practice and experimentation and a solid knowledge of how the software reacts to your input. We use different digital brushes and techniques to achieve the results we’re looking for.
While there are many powerful programs out there that promise to convert your photographs into paintings, no computer algorithm can replicate the thoughtful brushstrokes of a digital artist. Proof of that is that each artist has their own unique stye that is identifiable by the people familiar with their work.
Whether you choose a digital painter or watercolor painter or felt artist to create your heirloom artpiece is dependent entirely on how you feel about the artist’s style. The fact that the medium is digital should not discourage you - if you love it, that’s all that matters!
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There are usually three types of images that translate especially well into a finished painting:
A head-and-shoulders view with the subject looking toward the camera
A profile view
A full-body image
Images where the subject is reasonably close to the camera tend to work best, as they allow me to see details in fur, hair, feathers, and expression.
Rather than trying to choose “the one perfect photo,” I prefer to see a small collection of images. For most commissions, 5 to 50 images is ideal. This gives me flexibility to combine the best elements from multiple photos and create a more natural, polished result.
You’re also welcome to include inspiration images, whether they’re examples of backgrounds, lighting, poses, or artwork styles you’re drawn to. These don’t need to be of the subject itself.
To make things easy, I’ll provide a Dropbox link for uploading files, so there’s no need to worry about email size limits. If you’re working from a single image and would like that exact photo painted, you can simply send that file directly.
If you’d like a better sense of what tends to work well, you’re welcome to browse the portfolio or [read this blog post]
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Yes. Backgrounds can be simplified, customized, or completely reimagined. This is part of the design phase, where we explore options and settle on a direction before painting begins.
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Nope! I paint people, cats, frogs, landscapes, houses... whatever you want! If you've got a decent photograph of it, I can paint it.
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I accept credit or debit cards, PayPal, Zelle, Venmo, cash, or checks.
The Design & Consultation Fee is paid first. Once the design is approved and the final artwork details are set, a second invoice is issued for the remaining balance.Payment plans are available. The finished painting will not ship until the last payment is made.
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Every painting I create is a custom, collaborative process—designed to honor your subject in a meaningful, lasting way. I want you to love your portrait, and I’ve outlined the policy below to keep things fair and clear.
The Design & Consultation Fee covers professional creative work already completed, including consultation and mockups. If you decide not to move forward after the design phase, that fee reflects the time and expertise invested.
The process is structured to avoid surprises, with collaboration and approval built in before the final artwork begins. My goal is always to make sure you feel confident and excited before moving forward.
I truly want you to be happy with your painting, but also need to protect the time and care that goes into each piece—especially during the design phase. If you ever have questions about this process, I’m always happy to walk you through it.
Need Something Different? Not every project fits into a standard frame. Because the original artwork is created digitally, portraits can be adapted for unique applications such as breed advertisements, RV graphics, or other custom uses. If you have something specific in mind, reach out and I’ll be happy to provide a tailored quote.
IS THIS COMMISSION A GIFT?
Maybe you don’t have the best photo to use as a reference but would like to gift a painting to a friend or family member. Purchase a gift certificate to allow the recipient to choose their own reference images for a painting.
Gift Certificates are available and can be used as a deposit if the recipient would like to upgrade sizing and framing!
If you’d like more detail on specific topics, these articles may be helpful.
