Pet Portraits
The Animal You Know, Seen the Way You See Them
Fine art pet portraits by a Royal College of Art–trained painter and printmaker, made in New York City. Commissioned one at a time, in oil, mixed media, or works on paper.
Most pet portraits copy a photograph. This is something else.
There is a particular way an animal looks at you — steady, unhurried, without pretense. That gaze is what I'm after.
Animals have been at the center of my practice for decades, not as decoration but as encounter. So I don't trace a photograph. I work from many images, from your descriptions, from the details only you would know — the ear that never sits right, the muzzle going gray, the way she plants herself in the doorway. The likeness arrives through the character rather than around it.
I trained at the Royal College of Art and spent a defining chapter of my career in Alsace, France, as a colorist under a grande dame of French couture — an education in color as emotional language. I later directed the visual identity of West Elm and Pottery Barn before returning to my studio full time. My work has shown at the High Line Nine, Washington Square Park, and Alpha Art Gallery, with collaborations alongside MoMA and NYU Tisch.
All of that comes into a commission. It's why the color in these paintings does something.
Works on paper and paintings on canvas · Single or multiple animals
Memorial Commissions
For the ones who are no longer here
Many of these commissions are memorials, and I want to be honest about that.
I came back to painting through grief. After the loss of my husband, painting was the thing that let the light back in. I understand what it is to want something made that holds a presence.
So if you're commissioning a portrait of an animal you've lost, you don't need to explain yourself or apologize for how much it matters. Send me the photographs, even the imperfect ones. Tell me what she was like. I'll take my time, and I'll take it seriously.
How a Commission Works
01 — Inquiry Tell me about your animal and what you have in mind. Size, medium, where the piece will live, whether there is a date you are working toward.
02 — Conversation We talk. I ask questions that may seem odd — how she moves, what she does when you come home, what color you always associate with her. This is where the portrait actually begins.
03 — Reference & Agreement You send photographs; I will guide you on what is useful. We confirm size, medium, timeline, and investment, and a [50%] deposit reserves your place in the studio schedule.
04 — Painting I work. You will receive progress images at key stages, and there is one round of refinement built in before I call it finished.
05 — Delivery Final balance, then professional packing and shipping. [Framing available on request.]
Timeline note
Current turnaround is approximately 8-10 weeks from reference approval. Holiday commissions should be booked by October 31st.