For the love of pets
All about Pet Portraits
I don’t really write much about my Pet Portrait work here. I had wanted to keep it fairly separate from the other work I’ve mostly been sharing, but my Pet Portrait work is a big part of my practice and it deserves to have some of the spotlight too! I also tend to assume most readers will already be familiar with them but I may be wrong! Anyway, I wanted to share a little bit about why I do what I do and how much I love it.
Before we get too deep into it (it’s a fairly long one!), I wanted to let you know that my diary is open for Christmas Pet Portrait commissions! Click the link below to find out more and book your space…
I’ve been painting Pet Portraits for many years now, ‘officially’ since 2016, and in that time I have painted over 400 of them. My style has changed from very loose and messy, to more refined and much more detailed. I still like to keep a bit of expressiveness (is that a word?) in my portraits and whilst they can look quite realistic, it’s never my intention to completely copy the photo I’m working from. Of course it’s important to capture a good likeness of the pet, but I also like to capture a sense of movement and character, with energy in the brushstrokes to bring the portrait to life.
Having had pets for pretty much my whole life, I have always loved having animals in the house and having them as part of the family. Growing up we had two dogs, two goldfish, two guinea pigs, two rabbits and two hamsters (two so my sister and I had one each). I still remember when we got our dogs - when we went to visit the breeders house I remember peering into a big cardboard box full of tiny wriggly black and golden puppies. We chose one black one and one golden one, took them home, and called them Tess and Bo. They were the best dogs, inseparable from each other, and the most amazing childhood companions to us.
Fast forward to now and I have my own nine-year-old dog, Jeffers (who often pops up on here). I will admit I am one of those pet owners whose dog is like their child. We love him so much and he’s just the best. He’s getting more stubborn as he gets older but continues to make us laugh, and he still loves to play and go exploring on our walks.
I’m not quite sure when I first decided to paint pet portraits. I think it’s just something I’ve always done… In my degree show I made a book all about our wonderful family dog, Max, and I kept painting dogs for various projects, and then a friend asked me to do a painting of a family member’s dog. It pretty much kept growing from there.
I find painting people’s beloved pets so rewarding. I know how much pets mean to their families, and to be able to help honour that in some way means so much to me. A lot of the portraits I paint are of pets that have sadly passed away; these portraits in particular are always so special. Sad, yes, but if I can help someone remember their dearly loved dog or cat, then that’s such a special thing to be able to do. I paint each portrait with great care and put a lot of love into them, carefully painting their markings accurately, the curve of their nose, the way their fur falls, the colour of their eyes - everything that makes them unique.
The process of creating a pet portrait takes many hours of observation, drawing and painting. I always start off with doing a sheet of loose sketches (this is why I ask my clients for a few different photos) to get to know the pet’s character, and develop a likeness in my drawings. I then create a more detailed sketch, like a first draft of the portrait. If the client is happy with how this looks, I move onto the finished piece, making a new sketch which then becomes the outline for the painting. I spend hours building up lots of layers of paint, starting with the eyes, then the nose, and then the rest! Absolutely everything is done by hand. I work on smooth watercolour paper with gouache paint, which layers beautifully and allows for lots of different textures. I sometimes spend far too much time adding in tiny details and finishing touches, getting that perfectly-imperfect look that defines my way of working. Fine detail balanced with expressive mark-making.
I can sometimes get frustrated with the process because my paintings don’t always come out how I want them too, and sometimes they just don’t look like the pet, or they come out looking really overworked, or there’s just too much paint on the paper. I always want to do a good job so this is why I get annoyed with myself when this happens! Usually taking a step back from my desk and hiding the painting away in a drawer is the best solution - looking again with fresh eyes helps to correct any mistakes, or to make the decision to start again! Luckily this hasn’t happened in a while, but I still learn something new with each portrait I paint.
Emailing my clients a picture of their final portrait is still nerve-wracking. My heart still skips a beat each time I click ‘send’, and again when I open the email with their response. Usually I can breathe a big sigh of relief when I know they’re happy with the portrait and I’ve done their beloved pet justice, and this makes me very happy! Occasionally there are edits to be made but it’s never a problem to do them - as I said before I want to do a good job, and make something the client loves.
I always love getting new pet portrait enquiries in my inbox and seeing photos of beautiful dogs or cats, and I always look forward to painting them. It’s a dream job.
I hope you have enjoyed reading all about my Pet Portrait work, and I can’t wait to paint more of your gorgeous pets over the coming months!
As mentioned above, my diary is open for Christmas (and non-Christmas!) Pet Portrait commissions - click the button below to find out more, or you can always email me on hello@fionapurves.co.uk and I’ll be happy to help with any questions.
I adore your pet portraits! I always get so nervous too before I email a scan of the final piece