Pet Portraits
Custom pet portraits make for a thoughtful and very special gift for weddings, birthdays, anniversaries, Christmas, or even just to help ease the blow of losing a loved pet. Portraits can be customized by incorporating unique and personal elements like favorite plants or flowers, background color schemes, or even decorative elements that allude to the pet's name or personality. Brittany is happy to help design a composition for you if you don't have anything specific in mind. Each piece is uniquely one of a kind and painted right here, in Santa Cruz, CA.
Commissions for Pet Portraits are currently closed for 2023. If you would like to be notified for open commissions, please sign up for her newsletter (at the bottom of this page).
Information & Inspiration
Brittany works from photographs for the paintings, and great photos make for great paintings! The best photos are taken at eye level with good lighting. Photo clarity is key for getting as much detail as possible. It's usually best if you can capture the pet in a shaded outdoor area. Holding a treat over the camera usually makes for a cute and alert expression. Photos taken with an iPhone will work just fine.
If you would like to customize the painting, consider imagery that will compliment and highlight your pet. It is very easy to feel the need to include ALL of your favorite plants or sentimental attributes but often times this creates a chaotic composition in which your pet gets lost. Sometimes less is more.
Finally, this last bit is mostly for those who may be grieving the loss of a loved pet. Brittany welcomes the stories and funny little quirks about your pet that captured your heart in the first place. She lost her dog, Bella, in the Fall of 2020 and it was one of the most devastating life events that her family has been through. A huge part of the grieving process was sharing all of her stories and keeping her memory alive. So please feel free to share as much or as little about your pet, or the pet of a loved one, as you’d like. Brittany is all ears and it also provides wonderful food for thought as she paints.
Details
Pet portraits are painted in oil. Prices vary depending on specifics, but here is a general idea for pet portraits in some standard sizes (see chart):
Other sizes are also available!
Please allow 3–6 weeks for completion, depending on size and composition. If you are considering a portrait as a Christmas present, please get started as soon as possible because during that time of year there is usually a longer than normal wait list. Reserve your place in the queue!
Interested in a custom pet portrait?
Get in touch with Brittany to get on the waitlist for your very own commissioned pet portrait!