Twenty years ago today, I was sitting in a lawyer’s office signing the paperwork to incorporate Pouka, LLC.
I’d already been creating portraits for years. The paperwork was prompted by buying a dog daycare, which is a whole other story. I've written a bit about that saga here. Now, twenty years after signing those papers, I’ve been looking back at the work that has filled the years since I became "official".
Pouka has covered quite a few creative pursuits. Along with portraits and photography, I did web design, graphic design, and even a brief stint designing silk flower arrangements. Apparently, I’ve never had much trouble finding another creative outlet.
My portrait work has changed considerably, too. Pencil portraits, photography, digital painting, and eventually the hand-embellished canvases I create today. Each gave me something else to learn and another way to make the pictures I had in my head.
Pencil Portraits
My background in traditional art has stayed with me through all of it. When I started painting digitally, I wanted the finished piece to become something physical. A canvas you could hang, live with, and see differently as the light moved across its surface. Adding acrylic paint and texture became part of how I finished that work, and it’s now part of my everyday commission process.
Looking through older work also means remembering the subjects and the people who brought them to me. Some clients have returned for another portrait or introduced a friend to my work. Sometimes I’ve painted several animals from the same family over the years. Those commissions become little reminders of how much time has passed.
Margie commissioned her first portrait with me back in 2010, in pencil. Over the years I've done a few more for her in different mediums.
And then there are the photographs and stories people share. The expression they want me to capture. The detail I need to get right. The pet whose personality requires considerably more explanation than the space on a questionnaire allows. As someone who has lived and loved dogs and cats my entire life, I understand having a lot to say about your pet.
Animals have always been favorite subjects, but the people are a large part of this work, too. Someone has to tell me why that particular photograph matters, or why the slightly ridiculous expression is exactly the one they want to remember. Those discussions and memories are very personal.
I’ve also made room for books, personal projects, competition images, and teaching. The 205 Project gives me a reason to explore different breeds. Workshops let me share a process I use in my own work and see what someone else does with it.
There have been plenty of experiments along the way. Some led to work I still do. Others were apparently things I only needed to try once...
Twenty years hasn’t meant having everything figured out. I’m still learning, still making decisions about the business, and still capable of getting very excited about an idea before considering how many hours it will require. The daycare did teach me to ask a few more questions first. But I’m glad that making art remains part of my everyday life. I get to spend my time learning about animals and making something for people who care deeply about the subject.
If you’ve commissioned a portrait, bought a print or a book, attended a workshop, recommended me, or followed along here, thank you. Some of you have been around for a considerable part of these twenty years. Others have only recently found my work. I’m grateful to have you here.
And if you remember The PawSpa, I may have a photograph of your dog going down a slide.
Twenty years later, there are still dogs involved. At least that part was predictable.