Answers to your pet portrait questions

I often receive questions about different aspects of my pet portrait business. You’re always welcome to get in touch, but you can also find answers to some frequently asked questions here.

General

  • The best thing to do if you would like me to draw a portrait of your pet is to simply get in touch. Let me know what size portrait you are thinking of, and whether it’s a head and neck, or full body portrait. If you’re not sure, you can take a look at my size and pricing guide, and get some ideas from my galleries of dogs, cats and other animals. My home page will also give you a helpful overview of how I will work with you to create a beautiful pet portrait that’s just right for you.

  • It can take anywhere from several hours to several days to complete a pet portrait. It depends very much on the size and complexity of the picture. An A4 head and shoulders portrait can take up to a few days, while a large A3 portrait can take a little under a week. The other factor to keep in mind is pet portrait artists are often in great demand and have long waiting lists, so it pays to book early. Feel free to get in touch to enquire about a commission.

  • If you would like to have a portrait made with more than one pet that’s absolutely possible.

    If you have a picture of them all together in the poses you want, that’s great, but it can be a bit tricky to capture. In which case, I can work with separate individual photos of each pet and arrange them together in a way that looks right. Usually they are separated on the paper, but sometimes it’s possible to have them more together. It depends a bit on the perspective and lighting in the photos. For compositions with more than one subject, I would recommend no smaller than A3.

  • You are under no obligation to pay the full amount until you are happy with the final result. If, for any reason, you want to cancel your commission before the final payment is made, you are free to do so at any time and will not need to pay any outstanding amount. I will, however, retain the deposit to help cover loss of business, and any time spent on the project so far. If you haven’t paid 30 days after notification of completion, and I have not heard otherwise, I will assume you want to cancel the commission.

Reference photo

  • A good reference photo for a pet portrait artist to work from will be taken in good lighting conditions, with the eyes clearly visible. It will be high resolution so that it shows lots of the fine detail of the fur. It should be in focus, and the pet should be in the pose that you want in the final portrait. Check out my Reference Photos page for more tips on taking or choosing a great photo.

  • Sometimes it is possible to add a collar or name tag to a portrait if I have other pictures to work from. Adding a name to a collar tag is usually possible but a collar can be more difficult because of the way it interacts with the fur.

  • One of the most rewarding (as well as the most challenging!) things about my job is taking an old photograph of a much loved but departed pet and creating a highly detailed artwork from it. If you scan in an old photo or take a photograph in good lighting, I would be happy to take a look and see if I can turn it into a pet portrait.

Timescales

  • You will usually need to book a portrait several weeks in advance to ensure receiving a commission in time for Christmas. This is because they make such excellent presents! Also remember that shipping during this time of year also takes longer than usual.

  • My commission queue is usually only about a week long, but it gets longer in the lead up to Christmas. I will be able to give you an exact start date when you make a booking enquiry.

    My style is highly realistic, where I sometimes seek to draw almost every strand of hair. An A4 head and shoulders portrait can take up to a few days, while a large A3 portrait can take a little under a week.

  • It is best to ask or get in touch as early as possible if you have a particular date or timescale in mind.

Postage and Shipping

  • All orders are posted securely with a tracking number to the address you provide. If the item is a gift, I can post it directly to the recipient. Just let me know the address you would like me to send it to.

  • Worldwide shipping! When your pet portrait is posted, you will be given a tracking number so you can follow its journey to your doorstep!

  • I regularly ship commissions all over the world. I send a lot of pictures to the US and Europe and, it’s always really exciting to get a commission from a new country. It’s great to think that a piece of artwork that I have spent many days lovingly creating is hanging in a home somewhere in a completely different part of the world!

  • My portraits are packaged extremely well. In the unlikely event that damage occurs during transit, however, please send a me a photo of the damaged artwork. If the damage is significant, a new portrait will be drawn at no cost. Please note that the replacement portrait will be added to my client waiting list so might take some time to complete.