Owning a commissioned work of art is a luxury. You are initiating the creation of a treasure specific and exclusive to you. You are not making a purchase, you are participating in an experience.
When you commission an artist, you are not simply getting a job done, but ordering up a piece of their soul – the culmination of the artists’ life experiences up to this point – in combination with your own to form an emotional amalgam that neither you nor the artist could ever reproduce on their own.
If that isn't sexy enough for you, here are 10 good reasons to commission a portrait of a pet.
1. Show your love for your pet.
Whether you have a pup, cat, horse, cow, or spider (yes, I've been hire to paint a Spider before. Her name was Gretchen), hanging a portrait of it on the wall tells everyone (including your pet) how much he is cherished.
It'll be a lot hard for the cat to claim you don't love him when there is a gold-framed formal portrait of him above his food bowl.
2. Keep a memory alive.
We all like to think we'll have a great memory – always – but the fact is that we can all forget. Time, sickness, and aging can take away our clear memory. Having portraits (photos or art) can keep a lost but loved pet's memory alive.
3. Proof of ownership.
If you've seen a found pet advertisement, chances are you've notice they often ask for proof of ownership. This can look like having photos or being able to identify a collar or special marking. While someone can google a picture of a pet to falsely claim ownership, it's much easier to prove if you have a painting of your beloved companion. It's hard to argue with someone willing to spend money on art of their pet.
If you've seen a found pet advertisement, chances are you've notice they often ask for proof of ownership. This can look like having photos or being able to identify a collar or special marking. While someone can google a picture of a pet to falsely claim ownership, it's much easier to prove if you have a painting of your beloved companion. It's hard to argue with someone willing to spend money on art of their pet.
4. Conversation Piece
Many pet owners struggle to be social these days – which is why we have pets. They provide a lot of things that humans don't give out as readily like love an lack of judgment. If you have no social skills (or even if you do have them but want an easy “in” for when a visitor pops in on you, a pet portrait can be a great conversation starter. Especially if it's stylize an unique or maybe big an bold.
5. Great Gifts!
Most animal lovers would love to have a portrait of their pet but in this busy day and age, they may not have thought about it. We all think “oh, a bowl, new collar, new leash, maybe a cute sign that says something cute and cheesy about how much we love our pet” because we can find that on amazon, walmart, even garage sales. But we don't run into artists selling work in our day to day life. Even if someone has thought they might like a painting, they might not really know where to start. Finding an artist might be intimidating. I'll talk about how to find a good artist in another post.
Your friend will be stoked when you present them with a painting or a gift certificate for a painting of their pet.
6. Show your gratitude
Maybe you have a vet or trainer or breeder that you felt went above and beyond to help you and you'd like to thank them. All vets are animal lovers. So it's a safe bet they will like a pet painting – even if they already have one from another artist.
7. Holiday cards
I've personally had families tell me they used their pet portrait as a seasonal card by adding some words on the front (which is easy to add these days). Make sure you ask the artist if they are okay with this as many companies won't print artwork if you don't have a release from the artist. I'm not super picky about this, but some artists are. And it's just nice of you to check with the artist you're considering hiring.
8. Social Status
Okay, I don't mean to be superficial, but owning good artwork is a luxury. You don't need one to survive. So it's one thing you can do that will impress people when they come to visit your home (or at your office). If you need credibility for any reason, this is a nice way to get it subtly without being obnoxious. Gifting a portrait certificate to your boss (if you know they are an animal lover) is a sure way to get remembered when the boss is thinking about who she might promote. It won't be something she's likely to have gotten from two other people at the office.
9. Heirloom
You can pass on a quality painting to your children. Sure, it's not a house, but for people to whom family legacy is important, personalized heirlooms like this can mean more than some silver spoons or an old chair (unless their grandpa made it). They'll remember Great Grandma Gretyl had that giant of a Great Dane named Charlie Wiskerfirth that she loved more than anything.
10. Good four the soul
Honestly, commissioning artwork is a fun process where you can connect with another human to bring a vision you have to life. It also feels good to hold the end product in your hand and know it was created just for you. Life is hard so taking time to do little things for yourself can help replenish your soul and provide some dopamine that you might be missing.
Really, I can't think of one reason NOT to buy a pet portrait! I'll share some of my favorite pet portrait artists in a later post. Thanks for stopping by!
Really, I can't think of one reason NOT to buy a pet portrait! I'll share some of my favorite pet portrait artists in a later post. Thanks for stopping by!