Why on earth would I do Pet Portraits?

"Pet Portraits". Every time I say those words I think of that little section on the movie (or book- or vice versa ), Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas in which "my attorney" explains : Lucy paints portraits of Barbra Streisand.  For a moment it makes me feel just as awkward as she is !

I think I inherited my love for animals from my mother. She has the best connection with at least 2 of the 6 living kingdoms. I don't know how well she does with protists, fungi, archa and eubacteria but when it comes to animals you can see they love her and everything that she plants just grows and grows. As a child she had always wanted a pet cow and could never understand why that seemed so strange to most. So when it was my time to grow up, we still didn't get the cow, but we had anything from fish, turtles, hamsters, chicken and rabbits, to canaries, parakeets, parrots, snakes, frogs, butterflies, dogs, cats end even monkeys and I'm sure I'm forgetting a few !.  Yes, two adorable little monkeys.

Working on Cubby

Cubby

But even if we share the same love, I was cursed with being allergic to the hair of most animals. My eyes would swell, my cheeks would start inflating like the Stay Puft Ghostbuster's Marshmallow Man and soon enough my lungs would close so I couldn't breath at all. It was no joke either. I remember as a teenager being quarantined because of it. Yes, 40 days out of society and in a small, no carpets, no furniture, apartment with no human contact. Yes. That Bad. That awkward. Even more than Lucy.

Toto

There's also a big difference between people that have pets and people that love their pets. My next door neighbors with their chihuahuas that have never stepped inside the house - and complain about it all day long- are a clear example of people who just "have" pets.
Instead, those that treat them as if they were their children, that care for their food, their baths, their teeth, their nails, their walks (on the case of dogs or equivalent for other pets)... and that find time to play with them, are the only ones that would ever even consider having a portrait of them done.

Rizzo

So, I like people who like animals. I don't necessarily dislike those who don't, but it's definitively easier to like those who do.

My first portrait was done as a Christmas present to Ed and Joanne.  I love those two! It was done from a picture of Rizzo (a beautiful mixed Pitbull). I used black ink pens, since it was what I had available and spent quite a bit of time working on it. It was a great feeling to see that smile when they saw it.  I think most times it's a greater joy to give a gift than to receive it. There's something selfishly great in being the reason for someone's reason to smile.  After that first one found a spot on the wall, it caught other people's eye and soon I was rewarding myself with more smiles.

Ed with Sudie, Rizzo and Baron Von Lucky

I've never charged more than $150 and  I always spend a few days working on each one to make it look as best as I can. I looked online to see what others were doing. I had never even imagined that "pet portraits" was even a business, but apparently there's thousands of people doing them...and I thought I was being original with that first gift !! ..If you browse all the websites of people that offer this service you'll see there are some really bad ones and some incredibly good ones, and prices are sometimes or most times, outrageous. I even ran into this website in which they would just apply a photoshop filter that would make the picture that the client submitted into "charcoal" or "watercolor", or "warhol"  effect and then they would send you back a big print of it and charge you over $300. I can't believe people have the nerve to do those things.  But there's a lot of websites that do things like that. And apparently no one has any nerve issues. Actually those with too much nerve tend to be recognized and acclaimed for the consequences of such excess!! I won't get into that !!! but I could use some nerve implants !!! ;)

Molly

So that's the story of how I got into it. It has helped me pay rent and it has helped me build some confidence and  above all it's a way of recognizing those who love their pets and in return having the joy of having something to do with someone's reason to smile.

Snoop

Let me know if you'd like one for yourself or for a special occasion. I'd be happy to do them and I'd put all of me to make them look great. I don't work for free, because in order to do it, it means I have to give something up, but I work with any budget.  As long as everyone's fair !!!

Cheers!

Sudie & Rizzo

For more information e-mail me: rizzosink@yahoo.com