Show me an aritst who makes a living and I'll show you one who has painted pet portraits. Artists often avoid them, and only do them under duress, and there is a reason for that timidity. Portraits are difficult... and people who commission portraits have very specific expectations... and especially about the immortalization of a beloved pet. You may have to possess a dangerous amount of hubris to even take on such a task... but pet portraits are up there with the "best sellers," and can often be a key to financial survival.
Some of my first commissions 50 years ago were pet portraits... (I include livestock and horses in this category) and those jobs introduced me to the agony and ecstasy of pet portraiture. I did them, considering them the "dues" I had to pay... but benefitted greatly from the experiences, which drove me into new horizons.
It was almost haunting when a lady I knew for years, one day told me that she had commissioned me to do her horse forty years before... and it had been so long that I did not even recognize her, or remember the painting. So that proves that no matter how daunting the task, you will not be scarred for life!
And you will put a little bread on the table...
"Grimes County Line" SOLD
(12 x 24)
"Union Grove"
(12 x 24)
"Summers Mill Falls"
(11 x 14)
"Summers Mill"
(11 x 14)
"Adams Rd Bluebonnets"
(11 x 14)
"Old Baylor Spirit"
(16 x 20)
