Custom Monet Style Pet Portrait, Hand-Painted from Your Photo

Send the photograph where your animal’s head is up and its eyes are open; that single frame decides the painting. Your dog, cat or horse is then painted by hand in oil, faithful to the coat or in soft, broken colour.

What Monet gives a fur coat

In 1875 Monet painted Camille and Jean in a meadow at Argenteuil, outdoors and probably in a few hours. The brushwork is light and spontaneous, with colour laid in separate touches. Applied to an animal, that kind of touch makes fur read as light on a surface and not as hairs counted one by one.

The shop holds two animal pictures by him: The Turkeys and Horses at the Pointe de la Hève. A Monet-inspired pet painting keeps the animal sharp enough to recognise and leaves the grass or the sea around it soft.

A commission like this is not an original by Monet and not a museum reproduction; it is a contemporary painting in his manner.

Marks that make an animal itself

With a pet it is rarely the eyes alone. It is the white blaze that stops halfway down a nose, one ear that never stands, a cat sitting with its tail wrapped round its feet. Include one close view of the face, plus another showing the whole animal and its coat.

A black coat turns into a flat shape under flash, so shoot in daylight. A white or cream coat needs the opposite care: no hard midday glare that bleaches the form out of the fur.

When the animal has died

Send the clearest pictures you have, even small or old ones, and describe what they do not show: eye colour in sunlight, a scar, the favourite place to sit. Several photographs from different years help.

Taking the photograph

Get down to the animal’s level and shoot outdoors in daylight if you can. Take many frames, because the best one is usually the one you did not plan. Skip the flash, which turns eyes green or white, and wait for a moment when the ears sit where they usually do.

Choosing between a close view and a full body

A close view of the head gives the face and the eyes and nothing else, and it suits a small canvas. A full-body view shows posture, the length of a dog’s back or the line of a horse’s neck, and it needs more room. Think of the wall first, then choose the photograph that fits that shape.

A background of its own

An animal does not have to stay in the room where it was photographed. A dog from a city flat can stand in a field, and a horse can be placed by a beach. In the Monet-inspired version the setting stays soft and the animal stays clear, so the eye goes to it first. The faithful version keeps the setting of your photograph.

Questions about animal portraits

Can two animals share one canvas?

Yes, each as a separate figure. If they were never photographed together, send one clear picture of each in similar light.

Is a horse painted differently from a dog?

The method is the same, but a horse needs more canvas and often a wider format so that legs, neck and some landscape fit. Send a photograph that shows the whole animal from a little way off.

Can I appear next to my animal?

Yes, as one more figure. Send a photograph of yourself at a matching distance and in matching light.

Pet commission details

Sizes follow your photograph’s proportions. A single animal sits well on a small to medium canvas. Ask for it rolled in a tube, stretched over bars, or framed.

• Price: one animal on the smallest canvas, sent rolled, starts at $218 (30 × 40 cm, rolled canvas).
• Time at the easel: 2 to 4 weeks.
• You see a photograph of the finished painting before dispatch, so eyes and markings can be checked.
• Delivery once shipped: 5 to 7 business days.
• You can cancel your order at any time until it ships.
• Return period: 30 days.

A painting of a person follows the same path on the portrait page.

Start a pet portrait request