Pet Portraits by Nikky

If you live in Souther California like I do you are probably trying to avoid the heat. It’s so important for pets to stay safe during the summer months, especially when they are outdoor animals. Many cats, dogs and even horses can be overcome by the heat. Here are a few quick tips to keep your animals safe during the hot summer months.

• Always have a shaded area for your pets to retreat to. This can be a dog house, igloo, overhang from the house, or a cooled garage.
• Keep plenty of water available. This is a must!!! Animals can’t live without water, and during the summer months their water bowls can dry up quickly from evaporation. Many pet companies now sell special outdoor water bowls that can be attached to your hose to ensure a fresh water supply all day 7 days a week.
• Grooming your pet. Most animals will shed naturally, but if you have a long-haired dog or cat, it can take awhile for them to shed out their undercoats. There are several brands of specialty desheding combs that remove loose hair. This is also great if your pet frequently comes indoors. This way they won’t shed all over the house.
• Check your pets food. Many times during the summer, bugs and other insects change their habitats as well. Ever get Ants during the summer? Make sure your pets food is not overcome with bugs, insects or any type of harmful bacteria. Make sure your pet has fresh food every day. Even if they don’t all their food, it’s best to throw out the left overs. Even small flies and other invisible bacteria can start to develop very quickly. You wouldn’t eat left over, day old food if it was sitting out all day would you? Especially not if it was sitting outside for a whole day!
• Love your pet. Loving your pet means keeping it healthy. Not only diet but exercise too. If you don’t have much of a yard for your animals to roam around in, take them to the local park or beach if you can. Some beaches restrict pets, so just do your research about local and state beaches before going. If you are going to a local park, again, make sure your pet has a water source and a place to cool down. It’s great fun to play with your pets at the park, but keep them safe too. Keep them at a safe distance from other Pets and small children, unless you know them or have your pet on a retraint such as a lease or harness. Just be courteous.

The most important part of taking care of your pet, is realizing that they are just like humans. They survive off the same essential things that we do, so treat them like you would yourself or a family member. Keep your pets safe during the summer and they’ll continue loving you just as they always have!!

I recently finished a painting and am getting ready to start a new one. I have a great idea for the painting and most of the props I need to work from. The pet owner is having me paint a picture of her Lhaso Apso with its favorite toy, but of course in a non-traditional setting. She recently sent me the photos of her dog and I realized I did not explain to her the desirable qualities a good reference photo needs. I pride myself on making the animals in the paintings as close to the real thing as possible, because of this it is really important to have a good photo. The photos that the lady sent me were mainly taken inside, from an ariel view. When I paint my pet portraits the view of the animal is almost always at eye level. Therefore when taking a photo of ones pet it is great to get down at their level when snapping a picture. If you are not a professional photographer which most people aren’t the best way to get a good picture is to take it outside. The colors and tone quality of the photo are much better than photos taken inside. Lastly it is good to have many different poses of your pet. You want to get a good shot of their face and a good shot of their body especially one that shows the pose the pet is going to be painted in. The pictures of the Lhaso were mostly taken while the dog was lying down in a blanket. The folds of the blanket hid most of the dog’s body making it hard to get a good idea of the true subject. The key is, the better the photos the closer the painting will resemble the pet.

The other day I was driving down the street and saw a billboard for a show that had a dark image of an arm coming out of the earth covered in ropey vines. Then the best idea for a pet portrait came into my head. When I started painting, my work primarily consisted of people, which is really easy to find inspiration for settings since many artist paint people and the boundaries have been stretched pretty far to represent the human figure. When I first started painting pet portraits I was a little wary that my individual style might get lost. As time goes by I realize that anything you can do to the human figure you can do to an animal painting. By learning to think this way the paintings have become even more unique since you don’t usually see the household pet in a surreal setting, creating an amusing and interesting composition. So in the future don’t be surprised if you see a pet portrait that might reminds you of that dark image I saw driving down the road.

-Nikky Hughes
Pet Portrait Artist
Los Angeles

For more info, visit my full site at http://www.nikkyhughes.com

One of favorite portraits. I’ve created some very subtle color and lighting effects in the skin tones. Comments welcome. I’d like to hear from some of the viewers about this piece.

I recently wrote about painting a portrait of my cat Art and his ailing health. Well last week the inevitable happened. We made the decision to put him to sleep. I had spoken with the vet and others who had to euthanize their pet about when do you know it’s time. Most said you would know, boy were they right. You love your pet and when they get sick you worry that they are suffering, but you also don’t want to prematurely end their life if it is still fulfilling to them, but when Art got to the point where he was physically having trouble getting up to eat or potty, I new the time had come. It is definitely one of the saddest things I have had to do. This was the first pet that I had gone through this with as an adult. We had pets when I was little but my mom had always hidden all the sad details about a pets passing making it easier for my young mind to handle.

Now that he is gone, sometimes my mind forgets and I think I see him out of the corner of my eye or I automatically look to his corner where he liked to lay thinking he will be there. I guess these things will lessen with time, but it is nice in the mean time to remember his presence. He was with us for eleven great years and know he will be a part of my heart forever.

Click here to see my pet portrait of “Art”

Some pet portraits incorporate both the owner’s needs and the dog’s personality.  When I was commissioned to do the painting of the puggle in the yellow flowers we talked about many different aspects that we could add to the painting.  The puggle loved lying in the flower bed and also like chewing on rocks, sticks and pinecones.  This was a painting for her husband and the husband loved his dog but also was a big motorcycle enthusiast so I was able to find a way of adding all of these elements to create a painting that fit the dog and the owner.

When painting animal portraits I also take into account the personality of the person the painting is for. The painting of the pug on the lily pad has very little to do with the dog’s likes and dislikes and much more to do with the taste of the owner. The owner loved gardens and had recently been to Hawaii and had a great picture of a water lily garden. I worked on incorporating the picture of the lily pads into a painting including her dog so she had her beloved pet with a background she enjoyed aesthetically.

When I am commissioned to do a pet portrait I gather information about the pet, their likes, dislikes, personality. I also take into account the breed of dog or cat that is being done. For example when I did the painting of the German Shepard the owner wanted a simple painting of his dog outside. Together we decided to paint the dog in profile which fits the nobility of the German Shepard perfectly. Since the background was simpler a sunset sky which has a little more color complemented the painting adding just a little drama, while still letting the dog stand out and be the main focus of the portrait.

Ask anyone about their pet and they will tell you a story about their unique characteristics using human qualities. That is why I love capturing an animal’s spirits through oil paint. Each custom pet portrait is so different and each one has a hidden life that we have assigned to them fitting their personality. My job is to take those special qualities and turn them into a unique and intriguing painting unlike any you will find, satisfying your heart and your mind.

When I was twenty-three I adopted my first pet as an adult. When I moved into my own place I knew that I needed a furry little creature to keep me company, so I went to my local shelter. There were tons of cats needing homes, how could I decide which pet would be right for me? I started looking through the different rooms of cats, and noticed I had a little shadow following me. I was petting a brown tabby thinking maybe this is the one, but a little brown and white face kept nuzzling my leg and would not leave my side. His name was Heart, he was so sweet it was easy to see how he got his name. So I guess he picked me, there was no way I could leave without taking him with me. He was a big muscular alley cat, so I decided to drop the “HE” in his name and call him Art.

About a year ago I painted a portrait of Art walking through the mountains in a stream. I picked that setting for him because he has always been such an easy going cat, did not mind if you held or picked him up, liked pretty much everyone. It seemed like the perfect peaceful setting for him.

Art is now fifteen years old and is aging fast, and I am not quite sure how long he will be with me. I am glad I was able to paint a pet portrait of him where he is still vibrant and youthful, but also serene which I hope he will be able to experience coming toward the final stage of his life. The portrait will be a constant reminder of all the different aspects of his personality, and all the joy he brought to my life.