Pet Portraits

I specialise in creating realistic portrait drawings of pets and wildlife, working exclusively with artist-grade highly-lightfast coloured pencils of the highest quality on archival surfaces, creating artwork that will be lightfast (resistance to UV rays in sunlight) for hundreds of years. If you are interested in having a keepsake of your beloved pet, to cherish beyond their years, and honour their special place in your heart, I would love to create a custom pet portrait for you, capturing their unique character and adorable quirks.

Coloured pencils are comprised of pigments that are bound together by wax or oil, depending on the pencil brand, both of which I work with. They allow for a wide range of colours and effects through gentle layering and blending, etching/slicing and subtraction techniques, to achieve depth and vibrancy. I study every hair on your pet, looking at the myriad of colours in shadow and light, tonal values, contrasts of lights, darks and shadows, negative shapes, hair direction, and detailed reflections in their eyes.

Reference Photo

The most important tool in creating a realistic interpretation of your pet, is the quality of the reference photograph. In order to capture the spirit and character of the animal, and achieve high levels of detail, the photo needs to be:

  • In full focus (not portrait mode with blurring of extremities)
  • Of a high resolution (when zoomed in, you can see focused detail on their nose and individual hairs)
  • A close-up of the animal’s face
  • In natural lighting so their coat most represents their natural colour and is not obscured or flattened by shadow or direct sunlight (an overcast day outside is best)
  • Taken from eye-level with the animal
  • Avoiding use of a flash so as to retain the natural colour of their eyes and the reflection of their surroundings in the eyeball
  • An angle slightly off centre to give depth to their face

Try to choose a number of poses that you find appealing, and best reflect their character and personality. There are never too many photographs, as I find selecting the best one is of utmost importance – please send me as many as you can and I will sort through them and narrow it down to the one I feel will work best in an A4 format and truly reflect your pet.

If you are fairly local to Mulgrave, Victoria, and we both feel your pet photographs aren’t quite detailed enough or capturing the ideal angle, I can arrange a mutually suitable time to come and take some photographs of your pet.

Details

I draw all my commissions in A4 size (297mm x 210mm), which takes about 7-10 days to complete once the reference photograph has been selected and agreed upon by both of us (not including postage if relevant). The finished artwork will be supplied mounted in a double matboard (measuring 300mm x 400mm) and wrapped in an archival acid-free sleeve (unframed). Budget framing (no glass) can be provided on request for an extra $100. Once completed, I retain all copyright and reproduction rights on the artwork. Please note, backgrounds will not be included in the drawings, unless specifically requested and agreed upon, and an additional charge incurred.

My Process

This is my process for commissioning me to draw a custom pet portrait for you:

  1. Email me (kerrymcloughlin2519@gmail.com) to express your interest in having a pet commission created, discuss your ideas and desires and ask any questions. Include as many high resolution photographs as you can, according to my suggestions above for an ideal reference photo (please ensure these are not compressed or reduced in size, so that the maximum quality is preserved). 
  2. We’ll discuss further details such as portrait versus landscape orientation, collar versus no collar and name showing on the portrait, and I’ll choose the ideal photograph from the selection provided, and create a mock-up of the photograph in A4 size using photo-editing software, for you to give your approval. If the photographs aren’t ideal, I can advise you further, or if you are local, could potentially arrange to come out and take more photographs myself to use as a reference. 
  3. I’ll ask you to pay a 50% deposit ($300) to secure your slot, after which I will begin the drawing as soon as the current project has been completed.
  4. I will keep you updated on progress to ensure you are satisfied and feel I have achieved sufficient likeness in the portrait to the photograph, and can make any adjustments if necessary along the way. 
  5. Once we are both satisfied with the finished results, I would require the final 50% payment ($300), and the artwork can be picked up (or dropped off) locally from Mulgrave, or I can arrange postage (the cost of which will be added to the artwork price) in a secure package with tracked shipping for its safe arrival.

Optimised Digital File

I offer an optional service (for $100) to provide an optimised digital file of your finished pet portrait, in addition to the physical drawing. This allows you to order canvas prints or merchandise using this very high quality JPEG file, created from a high quality scan and professional enhancement to bring out the true colours of the drawing. This file cannot be used for monetary gain by the customer, only personal use (as described above), as copyright and reproduction rights are retained by the artist.

Pricing

  • A4 drawing (in 30cm x 40cm matboard), 1 pet, unframed - $600 AUD
  • A4 drawing (in 30cm x 40cm matboard), 1 pet, budget frame (local pick-up only) - $700 AUD
  • Optimised Digital File - $100 AUD

“Thank you Kerry! We absolutely love the wonderful portrait of our beautiful 12 year old Cookie. You are a truly talented Artist!   We are absolutely delighted. Every time I look at her portrait, I can’t believe how talented you are and how you captured our Cookie. Xxx”

Cookie (Kerry)

“My darling girl, so beautifully captured, thank you Kerry.”

Wickie (Beth)

“Thank you Kerry for drawing our beautiful girl so perfectly. Your portrait of her is so precious.”

Bella (Gail)

“My beautiful Tonic. You did him justice in capturing the twinkle in his eye Kerry. Thank you so much for this generous and unique gift.”

Tonic (Vanessa)

“I can’t thank you enough, Kerry. You’re an amazing artist and we are so thrilled with the finished portrait.”

Matilda (Cathy)

“That sketch you did of Tilly is absolutely brilliant. So life-like of her, I’d say it was a photo. What a gift you have. Made my Christmas.”

Matilda (Ken)

“Thank you, thank you for the drawings of our dogs. We are sure the recipients will be ecstatic… We have given the drawings to our families and they were both delighted and amazed with them.”

Jet and Ruby (Peter)