Both Nicholas and myself have been accepting pet portraits commissions for over 25 years. We are very experienced in not only understanding our customers needs, but we pride ourselves on our friendly and professional service. We have many returning customers, a fact we are very proud of. We have portrayed generations of dogs, cats and horses for our customers over the years. If you have specific ideas for your portrait, email or WhatsApp us your photos and we can create a tailored quote for you.
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Oils
Larger sizes of canvas are available, please email us for a tailored quote.
Depending on your photos and size of your pet, multiple head and full body portraits are usually best starting from 18 x 14 size. This allows the head or heads of the subjects to not be too small on the canvas to paint.
Basic scenic backgrounds can be painted for no extra charge on our smaller sizes. Complex backgrounds from 18 x 14 and above may incur additional charges, please email us for a quote.
The canvas sizes listed above are painted on high quality, pre-prepared Winsor & Newton Linen canvas. If you would like a bespoke size, or would prefer hand made and hand stretched Italian Linen canvas, please let us know your size requirements and we will get a quote for you from our specialist canvas makers.
Pencils
Pencil portraits are drawn on an off-white paper, with a plain or gently shaded background. Portraits are provided without frames. We provide an extensive range of sizes, including options larger and smaller than those detailed above. Should you require a multi pet portrait, a montage, or background, please reach out to me via email, text or WhatsApp and we will be happy to quote for you.
Shipping - Size Dependant
For our UK portraits we send using a tracked service either Parcelforce 24hr or Royal Mail Next Day Special Delivery - £35
We use DHL for our expedited shipping for Europe, Ireland and the Rest of the World from £100
Payment
A deposit is required to save your space in our commissions list. The remainder to be paid just prior to starting the portrait. We send invoices for online payment for overseas clients and accept all major debit and credit cards. UK clients and those with UK bank accounts can make payment via bank transfer. Please read our T&C's.
Photoshoots
If you are struggling to take photos of your pets, particularly horses as they are tricky to photograph, please do get in touch. If you are looking at having a larger sized oil painting, we are happy to come out to take photos. Alternatively, if you are too far away from us, we can work with a professional photographer near you to take a range of photos especially for the portrait. Let us know where you reside and we can help you make arrangements.
Good quality photographs for a pet portrait are key. This is the most important step. We require clear and in focus photos to work from. This is really essential and we can't stress enough how important good quality photos are. The better the photos, in reality, the better the portrait will be.
If you are able to take photos of your pet specifically for the portrait, take as many as you can. Ideally take your photos outside in natural daylight. Have a look at our pet portraits from photographs tips page, as it gives a good idea of the kind of photos we need.
We work from one main photo for each animals pose and can use others for detail. If you are looking at having two or more pets together in the same scene, it isn’t imperative to take photos of them together. It is useful for us to see photos of them together to see the size relationships between them, however we often work from individual photos and put pets together in the scene ourselves.
Once we have seen your photos and you let us know the kind of portrait you are looking for, we can then start to design the portrait for you. We create a 'Mock-Up' using your photos. This enables us to go back and forth with our clients to make sure the composition is perfect and exactly what our client wants.
A deposit is made to secure a place in our commissions list. £500 for oil paintings and £200 for pencil drawings. View our pricing options above for details. If you have any questions please do contact us at anytime. We are available to chat to most times via WhatsApp or Messenger too.
As soon as the painting or drawing is complete we take a number of photographs under our professional lighting in our art studio and email our clients for final approval. We always ask clients to view photos of the portrait to make sure they are absolutely perfect and they are 100% happy before packing them. If any changes are needed we work with our clients very closely at this stage to make any amendments required.
One everything is complete, we flat pack our pet portraits and it takes quite a long time to get the perfect presentation for when our clients open them when they arrive. After all of the time and effort we put into our artwork, they must be packed well. We have very high standards!
First of all we wrap the portraits in cellophane to keep them free from dust. If you are taking your portrait to your local framer, it would be wise to keep the painting or drawing wrapped in the cellophane to protect it until it has been framed.
You can see a photo of a pencil drawing and it's packaging along with an oil painting and its packaging. They are all safe within a sturdy black photography box, tissue paper and ribbon.
The final stage is to wrap it in foam wrap and place it in a double walled cardboard box. This makes the whole package safe and secure to travel, quite often, thousands of miles on it's journey all around the world, safely to your home.
We send our portraits on an express tracked service both overseas and within the UK. If you have any questions you are more than welcome to contact us at any time.
We do try to meet special occasions if we can, however it's not always possible at the busier times of year. In these instances we send a personalized gift card with all the information needed, in time for their special day. We can send to you or to the recipient and have two options....
1 - Make all the arrangements from choosing the photo, the design of the portrait, size and medium. Make full payment and be placed in our commission list, so that the recipient receives the portrait when complete.
2 - Pay the amount you wish to give the recipient. £500 or above for an oil painting or £200 or above for a pencil drawing. Send us a photo of the pet for the voucher card and leave them to decide everything. Either yourself or the recipient can pay for the remainder of the portrait.
The card size is 7 x 5 inches and we use Moonpig to send the cards worldwide. It contains all details required in the card about the gift and service. Email us at any time with your requirements. Last day for Christmas vouchers is 14th of December 2023.
If this is your first time commissioning a pet portrait in pencil or oil from Nicholas or myself, we hope these frequently asked questions help. We have gathered the most common questions we are asked about our pet portrait service, and if you would like to get in touch and ask your own questions, please do! We would love to chat to you.
Scroll up to view our prices and sizes. We offer larger sizes and bespoke sizes too. Please email us for details.
Both Nicholas and myself have an ongoing commission list, year round for our portraits. If you are looking to commission a pet portrait for a specific date, please let us know when enquiring.
Yes! Our pet portraits are in clients homes all over the world. Here in the UK to 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 are from!
Rolling a painting may cause damage to the surface of the painting. When it's then stretched onto stretcher bars, this can warp or damage the painting further. So we would never roll an oil painting. Our oil paintings are painted on ready stretched canvas, on hardwood stretchers ready for framing.
We can't express enough how important photos are. We work from one main photo for the pose, however 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 precise detailed work and realistic style. By basing the artwork on one photo we can be sure to capture your pets personality and character. It is definitely helpful to have lots of photos of your pet, and we can use others for detail and colouring. The photo you choose needs to depict your pet well - a photo where you would naturally say - "Ahh that’s really good of them". Remember - you know everything about your pet - however can only go by the photos you send.
We are sometimes able to visit clients to take photos of their horses, depending on where they reside. If you are looking at having an oil painting and are struggling to take photos, please contact us and we can discuss your options.
We always create mock-ups or designs of how the painting will look before putting pencil to paper or brush to canvas. We use Photoshop to create a design and composition so that we know what the portrait will look like. It is of course only a guide as we are limited using the computer to design the portrait, however it allows us and our clients to know exactly what the design of the portrait will be before starting. When Nicholas puts brush to canvas, or I put pencil to paper, it all comes together very naturally.
We work with clients all over the world and our artwork is displayed far and wide in our clients homes - USA, Canada, Australia, France, Switzerland, Singapore, Hong Kong to name a few.
Once we have viewed your photos and designed the portrait so that you know exactly what it will look like, a deposit is required to save your space in our commissions list. Clients based in the UK pay via bank transfer. Overseas clients can pay via debit, credit card or Amex. We email a secure invoice.
Final payment is invoiced one week prior to starting. Please read our T&C's prior to ordering.
Yes. We can take a set payment each month until the portraits been paid in full. On the final payment, we can then start the artwork.
As many as you have! The more the merrier! Nicholas and myself never tire of looking at your pets photos. They bring us joy and make us smile... and sometimes cry when we know they have passed. Our job is often like a roller coaster! We know how much they mean to you.
We can create paintings or drawings of as many pets as you would like in the same piece of artwork. It's mostly best to provide separate photos of each pet, however seeing pets together does help. We can put them together in the drawing or painting for you. Have a read of our pet portraits photography tips page which should give you an idea of the kind of photos we work from and how to take them!
If you are in the UK and would like to visit our studio, you are more than welcome. We have a very safe and secure garden for your dogs to roam around in and if you have any questions about visiting just drop us a line. We can do a photo shoot with them outside and you can come into our studio for a cuppa. We can take then a look at the photos on the computer and choose which you feel would work best for your dog portrait and chat about its design. We do have chickens in our garden, so if you feel your dog would not get on with them, let us know and we will put them away safely.
It is important to try to send us the largest sized photos you have. If you have WhatsApp you can send us photos direct from your photos app, or alternatively email them to us. Definitely try to avoid sending screenshots. If you need help just drop us a line!
Yes, however the size of the paper or canvas governs how many pets you can have in one portrait. The more pets you would like in a portrait of together, the larger your portrait will need to be. So for instance a 12 x 10 pencil or oil painting can only accommodate one head and shoulders portrait, possibly a full body in pencil. If you have any questions about size please drop us a line.
It can depend on the complexity of each portrait, whether the pet is long or short haired and the size of the portrait. There are many variables! We always try to give three weeks for an oil painting and two weeks for a pencil drawing.
Yes! Oil paintings are the ultimate medium for pets in a scenic background, however pencil drawings are just as great. Send us your photos and let us know your ideas for a portrait and we can discuss your options.
We create portraits in oils and pencil. Oil paintings are in full colour, painted by hand using fine brushes on Italian Linen canvas. Oil paintings don't need to be framed under glass. Pencil drawings are black and white (greyscale) and they are hand drawn using a range of pencils on Italian Fabriano paper. Drawing must be framed under glass with a mount / matt. The mediums cannot be mixed together in the same portrait.
All of our portraits are unique to each client and so you can have any size of portrait on paper or canvas. Email us with your ideas and we can chat about your requirements and send you a quote. Apart from your budget, you might like to think where you would like to display the painting or drawing. What size space do you have available - not forgetting to add extra on for framing. I often get my clients to cut out pieces of paper to various shapes and sizes and hold them up to the wall where they think they would like the painting or drawing to be. This helps clients to visualize what it would be like. If you need any help and guidance, do drop us a line.
A final photo of the painting or drawing is emailed to the client direct for them to check to see if they would like any tweaks made.
We have many years of experience in packing and sending pet portraits all over the world. We send our portraits on the best tracked services so that we know they are safe and secure when in transit. UK shipping is £35 and Overseas shipping starts at £100. Scroll up to see our beautiful packaging and how they all looked when shipped. Perfect to give as gifts. We always source eco friendly packaging, and we hope that our clients will reuse or recycle the packaging when it arrives.
There are many printing companies online where you can order paper or canvas prints. If you would like this option, we can provide you with an edited, high resolution photo of your portrait for you to order as many prints as you would like for friends and family. Please let us know upon ordering so we can arrange this for you.
Sadly our framers retired during Covid and we have not been able to find an equal replacement. Our craftsmen framers, created unique one of a kind, handmade frames and there are not that many companies that provide this service anymore. Because of this we decided not to replace them, so we are not currently offering framing. We can help you though, if you need any advice with framing, we have lots of experience and can always answer questions for you. if you find your own framers and they need to get in touch and ask us questions, they are more than welcome.
Yes! Scroll up to read about our gift voucher cards and how the process works.
Please let us know when you enquire about a portrait if you are looking at using the portrait for packaging or logo design etc. We have worked with many companies over the years, our artwork is featured on many products. We do hold the copyright on our paintings and drawings so they must never be used without our permission. None of our commissioned work on our website can be used commercially as the copyright of the photos that we paint or draw from, belong to ourselves and our clients.
We love adding our portraits on our website and writing stories about them on our blog. Our cleints also enjoy seeing their pets being honoured on our site too. If you would specifically prefer your name or your portrait not to appear, please do let us know when ordering. We are always very discreet. We have worked with a number of famous clients and their names are never promoted (unless allowed) We are a very private family, we only allow certain areas of our life to be shown online, so we understand the need for privacy!
If you have just arrived on our website and want to find out about us, Lily our Tibetan Terrier and our chickens, you can use the navigation at the top of our website in the 'about us' section. You can also read about our lifestyle, living in rural Wales in an old welsh cottage, how we have renovated it and the garden over the last 17 years along with our purpose built art studio in our woodland garden.
Testimonials.....
Hi Melanie and Nicholas,
Just wanted to let you know how excited we are about Coal's portrait. I have him as my wallpaper on my phone and iPad and I have sent it to all who know him. Everyone is so impressed with it, not only for its beauty and dimensions, but also for how his personality has been captured. We cannot wait until the actual portrait arrives. If our copies are so impressive the real thing will be astounding. Thank you once again.
Fondly, Julie