Looking to commission a custom pet portrait? You’re in the right place. We’re Melanie and Nicholas — professional pet portrait artists with over 25 years of experience capturing the character and charm of dogs, cats, horses and more in pencil and oil.
We’ve worked with clients all over the world, and many come back time and again. Whether you have a clear idea in mind or need help choosing a photo, we’re always happy to guide you through the process.
Got questions? You’ll find the answers below — or feel free to email or WhatsApp us for a chat about your portrait.
We offer a wide range of prices and sizes. View our prices and sizes. If you would like a bespoke size, please let us know.
Yes! Our pet portraits are in clients' homes all over the world — here in the UK, France, Norway, Netherlands, Sweden, Hong Kong, Singapore, Australia, Canada, America and Hawaii to name a few. We love chatting to clients and hearing about where they live. When you get in touch, let us know where you’re from!
Once we have viewed your photos and designed the portrait layout, a deposit is required to secure your place in our commissions list. UK clients can pay by bank transfer and overseas clients can pay by debit/credit card.
The balance is invoiced when c;lients have seen the final portrait. Please read our T&C's before ordering.
Yes. We can arrange a monthly payment plan.
Yes, we offer beautiful gift voucher cards. Visit our commission info page for more details.
Yes - always! We can't express enough how important photos are. We work from one main photo for the pose, and can use others for detail, colouring etc. We are unable to repose your pet. It isn't possible to look at a range of photos and then draw or paint your pet in a different pose — for our realistic style, we need a solid reference. Choose a photo where you’d naturally say, “Ahh that’s really good of them.” We’ll use others to help with detail, but the main photo sets the tone and character. We can only go by what you send us.
Yes. If clients would like to visit us in our studio we can take photos of your dogs for no charge. We are sometimes able to visit clients to take photos of their horses, depending on where you live. If you are interested in an oil painting and are struggling with photography, just drop us a line and we can talk options.
Yes. We always create mock-ups or layouts in Photoshop before we start your portrait. It’s only a guide of course, but it helps us all visualise what the final composition will look like. Once Nicholas puts brush to canvas — or I put pencil to paper — it all comes together very naturally.
As many as you have! Honestly, we love seeing your pets. Their stories make us smile (and sometimes cry, especially if they've passed). It’s an emotional job — we understand how much they mean to you.
Yes, we can! It’s usually best to send separate photos of each pet, but seeing them together helps. We’ll combine them into one drawing or painting. Take a look at our photography tips page for guidance on how best to capture your pets.
As large as possible please — no screenshots! If you're using WhatsApp, send them directly from your photo app. Otherwise, email is perfect. Need help? Just ask!
Yes, but keep in mind: the more pets you want in one portrait, the larger the size needs to be. Drop us a line if you’d like help deciding on size.
Yes! Oil portraits are ideal for scenic backgrounds, but we can also do lovely graphite backgrounds in pencil. Let us know your ideas and we’ll talk through options.
Oil portraits are painted in full colour on linen canvas and don’t need glass framing. Pencil drawings are black and white, hand drawn on Italian Fabriano paper, and must be framed under glass with a mount. The two mediums can’t be combined in the same piece.
Absolutely! Every portrait is bespoke — just tell us your idea and we’ll send you a quote. Think about where you want to display it too — cut out some paper in different sizes and hold it up on your wall to help visualise. And we’re always happy to guide you.
Yes, we email a final photo to you before posting so you can request any final tweaks.
No! Rolling a painting may cause damage to the surface. Stretching it afterwards can warp it even more. So we never roll an oil painting. All of our oils are painted on ready-stretched canvas using hardwood stretcher bars and are ready for framing.
We have been shipping portraits safely for over 25 years. UK delivery is from £30 depending on size. International shipping starts at £100. All are sent fully tracked in eco-friendly packaging — perfect for gifting and easy to reuse or recycle.
Sadly, our wonderful framers retired during Covid, and we haven’t found another quite like them. We no longer offer framing, but we’re more than happy to help you find a local framer and offer advice — or chat directly with them if they have questions.
Please let us know in advance if your portrait will be used for packaging, product labels or logos. We’ve worked with many companies and can advise on copyright usage. We hold the copyright on our artwork, and usage without permission isn’t allowed — especially since client photos are often involved.
If you would like us to, we love sharing the stories behind our portraits and featuring them on our blog. But if you'd prefer your portrait (or your name) not to be shared publicly, just let us know — we completely understand. We’ve worked with well-known clients and always respect their privacy.
If you are new here — welcome! You can learn more about us (and Lily, our Tibetan Terrier, and the chickens!) in the ‘About Us’ section of the website. We live and work in rural Wales in a renovated old cottage with a studio in our woodland garden. It’s our little slice of heaven.
Send us your favourite photos of your dog, cat, or horse and we will help you choose the perfect one for your portrait. We are happy to chat about any ideas you have for a portrait. We can’t wait to get started!
