Alfred Crocker   copyright Carol Lew

You can afford a pet portrait.

Diane Jorstad and Carol Lew are two accomplished artists who accept pet portrait commissions.

Carol Lew

Carol Lew takes a unique approach to her portraiture.  Her old world pet portraints are a study in the pet's personality, owner's interests, and Lew's creativity.

Lew explains, "For me, one of the most enjoyable aspects of working on commissions is the chance to brainstorm with pet owners about themes, costume ideas, favorite toys, and symbols that best capture the unique qualities of their pet."

Lew seeks to bring a strong sense of the pet's character to the painting while maintaining a sense of whimsy.

"Life never gets too serious when my workday includes conversations like, "I think we should put a necklace on Mindy (the Boston Terrier)," notes Lew.

Diane Jorstad

Diane Jorstad ia an award winning artist who mostly paints dogs, but gets requests for other pets and family portraits.  She will also paint you or your child with your pet.  Jorstad has been painting commissions for fifteen years and works closely with her clients.  "In addition to photographs, people provide details about the pet.  I even like to know the names of the dogs,"  Jorstad notes.  Jorstad began painting pets with her own cat.  She caught the cat in the act of mischief and translated it onto canvas.  Jorstad can paint an heirloom for your family.

Copyright Diane Jorstad

Commissioned pet portraits can take four to six weeks.  Oil paintings need a bit of extra drying time.

Prices for these artists range from $100 to $1000.

Last week the DC Dogs Examiner featured two differnet dog artists and will be highlighting several more in the weeks to come.