Why Do You Paint Pets & Animals?

Susie & loved pet 'Blacky'

People often ask me, "Why do you choose pets and animals as primary subjects for art?”
 
The quick answer is that I love painting pets and animals. I love to see them in my home and I love handing a newly finished pet portrait to its owner. However, their appeal as art subjects grew throughout my lifetime.
 
As a toddler I had a little dog I adored, I called Blacky.  He died before I turned 5 and I guess I cried for days, so my parents didn’t want any more pets. I think I felt a bit pet starved after that.  I married after college and began to gather a pet family around us. Over the past 48 years of marriage many breeds of dogs, cats, chickens, rabbits, fish, birds, turtles, goats, and horses filled our home and barn. As a result, I became familiar with their coats, colors and contours and loved them all. Of course,  life patterns do change.

After retiring, and in our ‘golden years’ we discovered the difficulties of caring for so many pets. Then, as each one sadly passed away,  we lived with fewer and fewer around. We decided to become a one pet family.  Currently we have our bouncy Boxer rescue girl named Josie. However, I also missed the others and wished for the liveliness & ‘life’ they’d brought into our home.

Within a year of retiring, I started painting our pets on coasters, which gave me an idea.  I decided to paint as many pet and animal portraits as possible; to keep me surrounded by their wonder faces and presence. Now our walls drip with their presence and I love them all over again. Some pet portraits are of our own pets. Others perhaps illustrate wishes of pets we’d love to have. Some remind me of very special pets who have passed on. Once again I feel surrounded by their life and unconditional love. I enjoyed this so much that I could not have predicted what happened next.

As I created pet paintings for myself and showed them to my friends and family, they began asking me for portraits of their pets and for those of family and friends. This became my delightful addiction as I discovered the happiness my pet portraits brought to these pet families. As a result of all these things, pets and animals remain my primary art subjects.

Footnote:
The sad truth about pets is that they rarely outlive us. While they live with us they bring life, joy, some craziness and unconditional love into our homes. When they pass away, we miss them.  I continue to paint pets or animals for myself and others because I hope to offer happiness for those with living pets, and warm memories that will last a lifetime.

If you are interested in a pet portrait for yourself or a loved one, please think of me. I’d love to help give you the lasting memory you’ll cherish forever.

For more information click this link: https://bit.ly/2TH1csh. 
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To go directly to my contact me form click here: https://bit.ly/2SULKZT

Wishing you warm hugs and wet sloppy pet kisses.
​Susie Caron
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